Colmar has really surprised me with its charm. It definitely makes me want to explore the Alsace region more. As I leave, the region is getting ready for the Christmas season. Many inhabitants are already bringing in the flowers under the windows and replacing them with Christmas decorations. In a few weeks (end of November) the Christmas Markets will begin and the entire place will be bursting with holiday spirit. The region of Alsace really warrants a deeper exploration, for sure. If Alsace is not in your bucket list, you need to add it know.
On Wednesday November 4th, I took an afternoon tour that included a wine tasting and a visit to a nearby German castle. There were four other women in our tour: our tour guide, Karen and Kenia, two women in their 50s from South Carolina, and Mary, and older woman who was housesitting her brother’s apartment in Colmar. This was a fun tour with just ladies. We all really got along and it made for a very fun time.
Colmar: Birthplace of the Statue of Liberty?
During our tour as the van was leaving the city, we passed a replica of the Statue of Liberty. This replica is small – 12 meters – compared to the original one. Now, we are all familiar with the story that Gustave Eiffel, the creator of the Eiffel Tour also built the Statue of Liberty, which was then given to America as a gift for 100 years of independence. While that is certainly true, Eiffel was a busy man and like any successful world-wide known architect, his firm employed many designers and engineers. Well, the man responsible for the design of the Statue of Liberty was from Colmar. His name was Auguste Bartholdi and he was a famous sculptor in his day. He was responsible for designing the Statue of Liberty among other famous sculptures. There is a museum dedicated to him in the city.
The Castle of Haut-Koenigsbourg
I was really excited to hear that during the first part of the tour was a visit to the nearby castle of Haut-Koenigsbourg. I love visiting castles and palaces, so even though I knew nothing about this castle (alas, I did not even know there was one in this area), I looked forward to it with pleasure. Our van climbed the Stophanberch mountain, winding through tall trees with yellow and red foliage. The day was cold and rainy. Halfway up the mountain, we pierced through the clouds until we arrived in front of the castle gates. The thick fog impeded us from viewing the castle in its full splendor, but the fog also gave the castle a mystic quality.
The castle dates back to the 12th century. It has an interesting history. Haut-Koenigsbourg belonged to the Hapsburgs. It was destroyed during the thirty years war by the Swedes, of all people, who sacked it and burned it. It was left abandoned for two centuries until Kaiser Wilhelm II took possession of it 1865 and completely restored it. After World War I, Alsace became part of France, and with it the castle came to be French and now belongs to the local government.
The castle, which is made of pink stone, is perched on the top of the Stophanberch mountain. Had the clouds not impeded our view, we would have been able to see all of Alsace and even all the way to the Black Forest in Germany. Anne, our tour guide, was kind enough to show us some pictures in her iphone of what the views were like. Dommage! We passed rooms with suits of armor, weapons, furniture dating back to the middle ages, and huge ceramic stoves with intricate designs that served to warm up the rooms during cold, rainy days like the one we had.
Vineyards of Alsace
Our van descended the mountain and we drove into wine territory. As we looked back at the mountain, we saw that the clouds had floated away and the castle was now visible. Dommage! Now, we sped through fields of bright yellow vineyards. We made a quick stop at a small town called Kaisersbourg. One on side of the town, the vines cascaded down from one of the hills. On the other side, the Vosage rose into view adorned with yellow, red, and green colors of the pines and autumn foliage.
A bad wine year for Alsace
Our tour guide explained some of the varieties that are grown in Alsace. The white grapes are Pinot Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Muscat, Silvaner, and Gewurztraminer. The only red variety is Pinot Noir. We also learned, that very much like Champagne, this was a bad year for Alsace due to higher amounts of rain. Many of the grapes got mildew and rotted. Produces lost between 15%- 30% of their yields.
Jason… and the Singing Wine Barrels
We continued to a small town of no more than 300 inhabitants were we stopped to visit an independent wine producer – Justin Boxler – who has produced wines since 1672 (that is 11 generations)! Here, we got a tour of the cellar and of the barrels. Oak is not used in Alsace to impart flavor. Instead, the wooden barrels that are used are of neutral oak. Some have been used for generations. For this particular vintage, the smaller barrels were used, since there was not a lot of wine produced this year due to the bad weather.
As we were touring the barrels, we heard little squeaks and hissing, like the singing of cicadas. The tour guide explained that this sound was made by the fermentation of the wine. She showed us some glass tubes plugged into the top of the barrels. Inside these tubes, clear liquid bubbled and produced the “singing.” The bubbles mean that the wine is fermenting. Once they stop, fermentation is finished.
Bon Degustation
At the end of the tour, we sampled 7 different wines. Pinot Blanc, two Rieslings (one of them being a grand cru!), two pinot Gris, a Muscat, and a Pinot Noir. My favorite by far was the Riesling grand cru! It has a complexity that you typically do not find in a Riesling. It had a slight petrol aroma. Stone fruit on the palette and a wonderful lingering honey finish.
Travel Tips
Here are some travel tips on Colmar and surrounding areas based on my experience today:
- If you are traveling solo, book a tour – organized tours provide the best way to meet people. You can find tours in Trip Advisor or you can search local tours. The local offices of tourism usually provide a good list of tour operators (many of which are the same offered by Trip Advisor, but a bit cheaper!).
- Yes, you can take wine with you to the US – you are allowed to bring back wine to the US as long as you check it! I usually pack some sheets of bubble wrap and a large Ziplock bag (the ones where you vacuum out the air). I wrap the bottles in bubble wrap and then fit them into the Ziplock bag. If the wine were to leak, at least it would be contained inside the Ziplock.
- Reserve a restaurant in Colmar for dinner – finding a restaurant at night in Colmar that is not full is actually hard. Many take reservations. I advise you reserve in advance unless you want to try your luck.
