3 days on the Wine Route

Great East/2022

Although the Alsace Wine Route officially starts in Marlenheim and heads south, following it from Obernai is a great way to get started. As far as Dambach-la-Ville, this stretch offers just enough vineyards, châteaux, winstubs and half-timbered houses to capture the essence of this mythical itinerary.

Obernai, the pearl of Alsace, with its colorful half-timbered houses, is ideal for sightseeing and gourmet strolls, with a large number of wine cellars to visit. Its splendid 16th-century wheat market, listed as a historic monument for over a hundred years, once housed butcher's shops before being used as a warehouse. Completely restored after a fire at the end of the 20th century, it is one of the town's most remarkable buildings, along with the town hall and the famous chapel tower, the Kappelturm, not to mention the many traditional residences you'll discover as you stroll along the cobbled streets. The rich gastronomic panorama - two 3-toque restaurants and a number of fine food shops - makes Obernai the ideal base camp. A few kilometers away, don't miss Ottrott, another jewel of picturesque, well-kept houses, also known for its specialty pinot noir wine, rouge d'Ottrott. Many of the surrounding remains are worth a visit, including the ruins of the castles of Lutzelbourg and Rathsamhausen. The village lies at the foot of Mont Sainte-Odile, a major pilgrimage site. The Hohenbourg Abbey, founded by St. Odile (née Odile de Hohenbourg), dominates the region and welcomes over a million visitors every year. We continue on to Heiligenstein, another famous wine-growing area, but this time for a grape variety that is quite rare in this territory: savagnin rose. Also known as traviner or klevener (not to be confused with klevner, a pinot blanc), it reveals subtle fruity and exotic notes. Right next door, Barr is a large agricultural and wine-growing town that has thrived thanks to its century-old wine fair. The town boasts a number of fine religious monuments, including the Protestant church of Saint-Martin and the Folie Marco decorative arts museum. The rest of the wine route is a string of splendid villages, perhaps a little less well known than Ribeauvillé or Riquewihr, but with the same charm and strong Alsatian identity. Andlau has an important historical past. Lords established a dynasty here as early as the 12th century, rising to the rank of baron and then count in the 17th century. The town owes its renown to the foundation of the abbey in the 9th century. Pope Leo IX made a stop here in 1049. From the 13th century onwards, successive abbesses took the title of princess-abbesses. The abbey church, listed as a historic monument since 1840, has been extensively altered since its medieval construction, but retains its superb 12th-century Romanesque portal. Climbing a little further, 2 kilometers away, Mittelbergheim deserves its place among France's most beautiful villages. Picturesque, with its perfectly maintained Alsatian houses, it's a commune that smells of good food and good wine, brimming with charm and authenticity. We continue in the same vein with Itterswiller, which offers a magnificent view over the vineyards, with its equally flower-filled residences and its unmissable cellars, before reaching Nothalten, Blienschwiller and Dambach-la-Ville. With the highest density of winegrowers in Alsace - some 60 wineries in the commune - Dambach-la-Ville also has a long medieval past, as evidenced by the entrance and exit gates. Inside, you'll find the same picturesque atmosphere as in neighboring villages, only more extensive, with half-timbered houses, gables and oriel windows, a wine trail, the chapel of Saint-Sébastien and the Auberge de la Couronne in the central square, which has been a historical monument since 1930.