Eguisheim – A wine village
(By Michael Tabone)
I can think of no great wine that does not come from a beautiful region. It seems that the vine does best where there are great views, environment and people to look after it. As in most agriculture, looking after your vineyard should also mean looking after your region as the two are inseparable. This generally creates a patriotic spirit within the community and is why some of the nicest and prettiest villages in the world are in agricultural areas.
Not that any one was in doubt, the Alsace wine village of Eguisheim has been officially recognized as one of the most beautiful villages in France by an organization called ‘Les plus beaux villages de France’. Eguisheim is a small village just 10 minutes to the west of Colmar. It was here that the Romans planted their first Alsace vineyards in the 3rd century and it is its slopes that give birth to some of the best Alsace wines today. This is the home of Leon Beyer, Jean-Luc Freudenreich, Wolfberger, Zinck etc. and the Grand Cru vineyards of Eichberg and Pfersigberg.
The village is also rich in history and architecture. Amongst the important events that took place here was the construction of Count Eberhard’s chateau in 720AD and the birth of the eventual reformist pope Leo IX in 1002. The architectural style of the village spans hundreds of years but probably the most impressive sight is the fortifications in concentric circles around the castle, which date back to 1257. Today the village is a medieval jewel, full of ‘colombage’ houses built up against the original ramparts and pristine, picture postcard squares. In spring and summer, flower pots decorate every nook and cranny, for which the village has won many national floral awards. In 2006 it will represent France in the European championships in the “village” category, while the famous wine city of Beaune will be the French contender in the “town” contest.
The official celebrations for entry into ‘Les plus beaux villages de France’ took place on the 29th August and coincided with the 44th annual “Fete des Vignerons” for which I was very happy to be invited by the village’s assistant mayor, Marie-Leonce Freudenreich and her husband, David Ling. ‘Mimi’ as she is affectionately known amongst friends is an untiring devotee to her village and people. She has held many positions within the town’s organizations and at present besides being the assistant mayor, she is also the president of the committee that organizes the feast. She is also the regional head of agricultural development for the Credit Agricole bank in Alsace and the Vosges.
The 2 days of celebrations started on Saturday the 28th of August with a street party. All the wine producers opened their courtyards or set up stands where one could taste a great selection of wines, starting from the basic Edelzwicker up to the rare Selection des Grains Nobles. There were food stalls selling pretzels and tartes flambees, as well as a number of street bands playing all sorts of music ranging from traditional Alsace to jazz, rock and pop. There were art and crafts exhibitions all around the ramparts, as well as dancing and singing until the early hours of the morning. 15,000, mostly young people descended on Eguisheim that evening. Whilst the young were having fun in a style that not all wine lovers will approve of, official guests were very civilly entertained by the municipality to a traditional Choucroute prepared by Olivier Wolff of the Auberge des 3 Chateaux.
At first light the following morning, an army of volunteer street cleaners had a big job to bring the village back to its pristine glory for the more solemn celebrations of Sunday.!!!!
The programme for Sunday started with Mass at the 13th century parish church of St Peter & St Paul. This was followed by the mayor, Pierre Hussherr, signing the charter of “Les plus beaux villages de France” and exchanges of gifts from the representatives of all the villages and towns that Eguisheim is either twinned with or has a ‘friendship pact’ with, in France and abroad, including such famous wine towns as Hautvillers (Champagne), Nuits-St.-Georges (Burgundy) and St.-Emilion (Bordeaux).
At 1.00pm we were invited for ‘The banquet of Friendship’ at the 1* Michelin “Caveau d’Eguisheim” which is run by Jean-Christophe Perrin and his family. The food was exceptional. There were marinated red mullet fillets, cappucino of prawns with ‘girolles’ and ‘tete de veau’ but the star plate was the main course. Brochettes of pork belly which had been preserved in its own fat accompanied by a whole potato stuffed with ‘cepes des Vosges’ and lardons and a deceptively simple ‘jus’. Really great, wine-friendly food, well thought-out and presented. These were followed with ‘Munster’, the famous Alsace cheese, then dessert.
The wines served were exceptional too. With the mullet we had Pfersigberg Riesling 2000 by Jean-Luc Freudenreich. Clean and citrussy and quite mineral. With the ‘cappucino’ Paul Ginglinger’s Tokay Pinot Gris Cuvee des Prelats 2003 was a match made in heaven. Fragrant and rich, living up to the rich flavours of the mushrooms and the veal’s head. I have always been a bit disillusioned with Alsace’s red wines but I think that I finally found one which I liked. Leon Beyer’s Pinot Noir 1999 was fresh and fruity with good extract. Nice medium body which accompanied the brochettes beautifully.
Leon Beyer is one of the great wine people of our time. He is up there with Thierry Manoncourt, Baron Philippe de Rothschild and Johnny Hugel amongst others. At 85, it was nice to see him still active and very much full of life. With the Munster cheese we had Wolfberger’s Gewurztraminer ‘Armorie’ 2000 and with desert Gewurztraminer Vendages Tardives 1998 by Charles Baur. Wolfberger is the largest co operative in Alsace but the emphasis on quality is rather high.
Lunch was followed by a folkloristic cortege of about 25 different folk groups which was crowned with the presence of Her Majesty the Queen of Alsace wines and her Dauphines.
The evening brought more music, more food, great wine and friendship which brought to a close another successful “Fete des Vignerons”. This is what wine is all about and Eguisheim is definitely one of the best places on earth where to celebrate the true meaning of WINE.
We stayed at the Hostellerie du Pape which is owned by Maurice Huber, and his team are a shining example of Alsace Hospitality. There is also a very good chef. Do not miss the ‘feuillete de ris and rognons de veau’.
For this year’s celebrations, ‘Mimi’ dreamed up the catch phrase ‘Eguisheim - a visiter sans moderation’. I fully agree. Eguisheim is a village to visit AND TASTE without moderation.
P.S. I see many connections between Mdina and Eguisheim. Both are historic fortified towns and both are very beautiful. Both Cathedrals are dedicated to St Peter and St Paul. Both hold flower festivals. Maybe the Mayor of Mdina could take advantage of the fact the Mimi and her husband come to Malta once or twice a year and discuss a twinning project. She will be back here in December.
mike@michaeltabone.com
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