Ribeauville Morning
14 September 2017
We woke in our little room excited to continue on our way, yet still with the ping of desire to stay in Ribeauville a bit longer. The town itself and the Au Lion were both more than we expected, and it was a shame to say our goodbyes so soon. Our server/hostess from last night was not there in the morning of course, so we didn’t get to say goodbye and thank her for everything. There was a guy at the desk who handled our checkout, and he inquired to our plans for the rest of the trip. As we explained we were heading to Riquewihr and on to Eguisheim today, and will visit Colmar tomorrow, he emphatically recommended that we stop in Kaysersberg. This is not the first time since coming here that we have heard people list Kaysersberg as a must see, so we figured we would take his advice and stop by for a visit later in the day.
So, I have an issue. For reasons not fully understood, and quite a few doctors have checked into it, my joints can get inflamed and irritated. Usually it is in an ankle but can also be one of my knees. Doctors have not yet found out exactly what is going on, so I usually just have to deal with the swelling and pain. Unfortunately, this morning I could feel the inflammation coming on. This is the first time it has happened while traveling, and it usually makes walking fairly difficult. It was something I was just going to have to deal with for the remainder of our time here, so some of our plans would likely need adjustment.
We started the slow walk down Grand Rue through the town. Eventually this would lead us out near the Trimbach winery, but we needed some breakfast first. We found a little bakery with absolutely huge loaves of bread! We weren't getting the bread today, but they did have sucre bretzels! Basically, these are donuts in the shape of a pretzel, but who am I to ask questions? We got one of these and a coffee to start the day. As we were creaming up our coffee, we heard the mittelalter muzik coming from their speakers – a genre that is one of my favorites! Medieval inspired music, donut pretzels, and a loaf of bread that would be taller than me if stood on end? I could get used to this shop!
We walked the length of the street and found our way to Trimbach. This is one of the wineries that we knew of, as it is one of the most easily found Alsatian wine back home. What we have had from them has always been good, if it was only just a couple limited varieties. We walked through the doors excited to see what else we could find and love from them! At the tasting bar we were greeted with a small history of the winery and a little sign taped on the wall that read. "Say no to oak! Put the fruit back in wine!"
We were greeted by the woman who was going to pour our samples, and she presented a nice variety to try. Unlike many wineries we are used to, there was no charge for the tastings with a bottle purchase. Considering the price of the bottles here compared to the price at home, we were definitely going to buy a bottle or two! But what to choose? We started with their Sylvaner, Pinot Blanc, and a basic Riesling, before moving on to a Select Riesling. From there, we moved to a Pinot Gris and a Pinot Gris Reserve. And that is where our world changed! We sampled a few Gewürztraminers, but we knew for sure what we were going to buy. We are familiar with Alsatian Riesling and Gewürztraminer but were simply blown away by the local Pinot Gris. Fantastic! We purchased a bottle of the 2013 Pinot Gris Reserve Personnelle and threw in a small size of the Gewürztraminer for good measure. While they were packing up our bottles, an older local couple came in and bought a case of wine – 6 bottles each of two different varieties, with the total coming to €1200.00!! We took our small bottles and went on our way, wondering how much we would stroll in and drop in the winery if we were local...
