WHITE WINE AND BEER SAUSAGE
The Wine Road of Northern Alsace
The
Northern Alsace Wine Road through the Rhine River plains of the Alsace
region of France is one of the less familiar wine touring areas of Europe
located the thickly forested hills and valleys of the Northern Vosges
where eastern France elbows up against Germany's Baden-Wurttemburg across
the river from the Black Forest in
a land contested through Europe’s centuries of territorial
disputes like a family feud. The more well-known Wine Road of Alsace
runs south
from Strasbourg to Mulhouse (see Route
Des Vins Alsace),
but Northern Alsace between Strasbourg and the border of Germany’s
Saarland is more easily combined with a trip to it's teutonic neighbor.
The Maginot Line (see Everything's
Fine on The Maginot Line)
left over from the brief lull between world wars passes through these
valleys
as does the string
of vineyards of about 200 winegrowers producing sparkling Cremant and
Tokay Pinot wine varieties.
The North Alsace Wine Road passes through the villages of Cleebourg, to Rott, Steinseltz and Oberhoffen-les-Wissembourg. The first vines were planted in the area by the Benedictine monks of Wissemboug Abbey. The Romanesque abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul is the second largest structure in Alsace after the Strasbourg Cathedral (see Stasbourg Gothic Cathedral).
Another of the many early gothic religious buildings in the area is the Guillemite convent, the main pilgrimage house built in honor of the Virgin of Alsace. There is hardly a village that doesn’t provide a place to stop and sample the local produce of the rich farmland and game from the ancient forests.
Meatballs are a specialty in the Vosges villages of Hunspach and Seebach, sometimes called the “most beautiful rural towns in France”. Black chestnut pudding is the famous dish from Niederbronn, and fish stew is the dish along the banks of the Rhine. In Haguenau, rich with 13th Century architecture which gives it a place on the Romanesque Road of Alsace, the “Caprices du Sandhaas” is a collection of Alcasian beer-based products, including a sausage and brioche unique to the local area.
For
seasonal happenings, in winter Alsace comprises seven lands of Christmas.
Northern Alsace is home to “Christmas in the Land of Mysteries” following
the legends of Hans Trapp through exhibitions, puppet shows, vigils
and Christmas Markets. In summer is the Hop Festival in Haguenau
and in September on the wine road is the Grape Harvest Festival in Cleebourg
with winemaking craft demonstrations, wine tasting and of course lots
of dancing in traditional folk costume to go with your Pinot. ©Bargain
Travel Europe
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SEE ALSO:
GERMANY'S
BLACK FOREST
BURG REICHENSTEIN - HEADLESS
KNIGHT
BEAUNE AND OLD VIRGINS OF BURGUNDY
