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Four seasons in Riquewihr & on the Alsace wine route

Walking and exploring the heart of the vineyards on the wine trails surrounding Riquewihr 

Visitors can easily explore the heart of the vineyards of Riquewihr and the nearby villages like Hunawihr, Zellenberg, Beblenheim or Kientzheim. You will walk along numerous vineyard paths, or wine trails, leading to the crest of each slope, where signs explain the work of the winegrowers and the diversity of the grape varieties grown. There are no fewer than 46 of these wine trails in Alsace, winding their way through the heart of the vines and the picturesque towns.

For a two-hour walk, at most, each wine trail offers a view of the colours and flavors of Alsace, and sometimes a connection with the wine growers themselves. The tourist office in Riquewihr carries the detailed maps of the wine trails / paths around Riquewihr.

Alsace is one of the most beautiful and distinctive regions of France and is famous for its wine and gastronomy.

A few years ago, Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel magazine chose Alsace as one of the beautiful regions in the world to visit. Recently, the Colmar region was voted 3rd Best Destination in Europe. Alsace is one of the most beautiful regions of France and will amaze you and change your scenery.

Alsace was a pioneer in wine tourism in France with the development of the Alsace Wine Route which has contributed, for 70 years, to the success of the wines of the region. Famous for its exceptional natural beauty, the Alsace Wine Route takes visitors through its vine-covered hills and through its picturesque villages with narrow streets and flower-filled houses. These are 170 kilometers of wonder, from Marlenheim on the west of Strasbourg to Thann to the south. Riquewihr is right in the middle.

Alsace is famous for its wine festivals which take place in villages along the wine route during the summer. You shouldn’t miss going to eat or have a drink in a Winstub. Winstubs are wine bars that also serve good traditional regional dishes.

During your stay with us in Riquewihr, we will inform you of major events taking place during your stay.

Our holiday apartments in Riquewihr

Discover our holiday vacation rentals, at the foot of the Alsace vineyard, in one glimpse.

From the studio to the large luxury apartment: our 10 romantic gites in Alsace provide some of the best self catering accommodation in Alsace. 

Riquewihr in Alsace, a pearl on the wine route.

Located on the foothills of the Vosges, between 200 and 400 m above sea level, the Alsatian vineyard makes the most of its exposure to the sun, especially since the vines are trellised along high wires.

The Alsace Wine Route has become famous throughout the world for its exceptional natural beauty and for the quality of the welcome by its winegrowers. The Alsace Wine Route winds from north to south, along the eastern foothills of the Vosges.

Riquewihr (just over 1000 inhabitants) is in the heart of the Alsatian vineyards, a major stopover on the Alsace wine route. Our village is recognized as one of the most beautiful villages in France.

Get to know the wines of Alsace and Riquewihr better

Alsace is famous for its production of aromatic white wines. The region has 4,930 small vineyards spread over 15,535 ha! Protected from oceanic influences by the Vosges mountains, Alsace benefits from one of the lowest rainfall in France and Riquewihr is located in the middle of the driest zone. It benefits from a semi-continental climate – sunny, hot and dry. This climate not only offers a fantastic advantage to tourists but also ideal conditions for growing vines. The mountain breeze that descends towards the vineyard during the night in summer and fall brings freshness which promotes slow and prolonged ripening of the grapes. This very particular climate gives elegant and complex aromas to the wines.

Riquewihr wine has been famous since the Middle Ages, particularly the wines which come from the Schoenenbourg hillside. Its exceptional terroir, where gypsum is found, gives it very particular aromas and an almost indestructible character. In the middle of the Middle Ages, this wine was shipped to European northern countries by the river Rhine. The barrels were loaded onto small flat-bottomed boats which went down the Ill river to Strasbourg. The village of Illhaeusern and the neighboring town of Sélestat had small ports where shipping wine was the main activity. After Strasbourg, the barrels were stowed on large rafts of tree trunks which floated down the Rhine to the Netherlands. There, the driftwood rafts were dismantled and sent to shipyards. Alsace wine barrels were then loaded onto ships which took them to Scandinavia, Russia and the British Isles. At the end of such a long and costly expedition, the buyer of Alsace wine had to be sure of obtaining a product in good condition. The wine from the Schoenenbourg hillside in Riquewihr had this reputation for extreme longevity. The golden age of the Alsace wine trade in the Middle Ages brought enough wealth to Riquewihr to allow its winegrowers to build these beautiful houses which still delight us today.

Even today, the Brotherhood Saint-Etienne d’Alsace keeps Riquewihr wines in its wine library which date back well before the year 1900 and which remain a delight. So please don’t drink your great Riquewihr wines too young. They need at least a few years in the bottle to express themselves! Personally, I do not serve my great Schoenenbourg wines before they are 9 or 10 years old.

The famous grape varieties of Alsace are Riesling, Pinot Gris (formerly called Tokay), Muscat, Gewurztraminer. All these varieties are grown in Riquewihr. You will find these wines on the bottle labels. There are also other grape varieties, such as Sylvaner, Auxerrois and Pinot Blanc (all white wines). Edelzwicker is not a grape variety but a blend of several noble grape varieties such as Riesling, Pinot Gris, Muscat or Gewurztraminer. Each winegrower has his own recipe which can change from year to year depending on current production. More and more excellent red Pinot Noir wines are also produced in Alsace. The Klevner – in fact the Alsatian name for the Savagnin rose – grows further north, not in Riquewihr.

Alsace wines on your table and how to pair food with Alsace wines

An Alsace wine can be adapted to all occasions. Delicious as an aperitif before the meal, the wines made in Alsace also pair perfectly with fish and seafood. This is the reason why so many Alsatian villages have a partnership with villages in Brittany, on the west coast of France ! 

Alsace wines are the ideal partners for all seafood products. Sylvaner with shellfish, Riesling with salmon or even Gewurztraminer (but dry) with Chinese shrimp, these are just a few examples of the numerous pairings between Alsace wines and fish recipes.

White meats naturally require white wines. Try a Riesling with your roast chicken, a Pinot Gris with roast veal. Opt for a Gewurztraminer for pork with pineapple… Personally, I like all these wines to be dry. Many rich combinations are possible between Alsace wines and white meats. For Alsace wines, gastronomy knows no borders: thanks to the distinct personality of each Alsace wine, they adapt to all types of recipes, from Asian to Mediterranean cuisine, from Indian to the Mexican. Sylvaner and sushi, Riesling and Chinese fondue, Gewurztraminer and tacos are just a few stops on a gastronomic world tour.

Contrary to popular belief, in most cases, white wines are better suited to cheese than red wines. Alsace wines are perfect to accompany all types of cheese. With soft and mild cheeses, serve Sylvaner or Pinot Blanc. Goat cheese will be perfect with Riesling. With strong cheeses, try a dry Gewurztraminer. Hard cheeses like Cheddar will go well with Pinot Gris. Try it, you will be won over!

For desserts, personally, I prefer to pair them with dry wines. A lemon tart with a dry riesling for example. I find that a sweet dessert accompanied by a sweet wine… it’s a lot of sugar and it makes your mouth stuffy. Late harvests or selections of noble, rare, sweet or even sweet grains deserve to be tasted alone and appreciated for their own sake. This is a personal opinion but one that I assert loud and clear.

Our holiday apartments in Riquewihr

Discover our holiday vacation rentals, at the foot of the Alsace vineyard, in one glimpse.

From the studio to the large luxury apartment: our 10 romantic gites in Alsace provide some of the best self catering accommodation in Alsace. 

Four seasons in the vineyards of Riquewihr 

Grape harvesting in Riquewihr

We are in wine country. September (sometimes from the end of August) and October are the harvest period, the major event for every winegrower. Autumn is also the favorite season for wine lovers and foodies. Then there is a very special atmosphere in the village of Riquewihr. The winegrowers are busy harvesting the grapes. And at the end of September it is possible to taste the new wine. In fact, new wine (Neuer Sisser in Alsatian, literally the “new sweet”) is a kind of sweet grape juice. The sugar in the grapes has not yet completely transformed into alcohol. A lovely nutty aperitif that can only be enjoyed on site since new wine cannot be bottled (the ongoing fermentation would cause the bottle to explode).

Better than words, discover the following video we made which shows you the beauty of Riquewihr in the fall and a morning of harvest on the Schoenenbourg hillside. Take the opportunity to discover this colorful atmosphere by staying in one of our charming vacation rentals, particularly those facing the vineyard.

Winter is the season for the wine lovers

Straddling the end of autumn and the beginning of winter, Alsace rejoices in the magical atmosphere of Christmas, its illuminations, markets and concerts which mark the commemoration of the Nativity of Jesus during the darkest nights of the year. To evoke this very special period of Christmas festivities, we have prepared a special page for you.

Winter is the season of traditional Alsace par excellence, that of discoveries reserved for those who know how to look and get closer to this very special province that is Alsace.

The day after Epiphany, the Three Kings Day on January 6, when all that remains of the Christmas celebrations are memories and… gifts, when the lanterns have gone out and the new year has begun its march towards Easter, then another Alsace is revealed. Some find it more authentic, far from the tumult and crowds. Winter is the season of traditional Alsace par excellence, that of discoveries reserved for those who know how to look and get closer to this very special province that is Alsace. Riquewihr is an ideal base for exploring the vineyards and the mountains, but also the plain and nearby Germany!

In winter, the winemaker also has more time to let you taste the wonders of his cellar and introduce you to the mysteries of Alsace wine. The restaurants, inns and taverns which are open in winter (there are few of them) are those which are frequented by the Alsatians themselves, a guarantee of quality and authenticity. In winter, the treasures of medieval architecture, the picturesque streets of Riquewihr, the jewels of the museums of Colmar belong to those who know how to choose a stay wisely.

Spring – is the season of the rebirth of the vineyards

Nature wakes up and the first leaves begin to appear in the vineyard. Here and there on the wine route, villages celebrate this rebirth of new life by organizing the first wine festivals of the year. Here are some examples.

Organized in Dambach-la-Ville by the Brotherhood of the Blessed Frankstein, the traditional “Granite Stones & Wines” festival is traditionally held in spring. Wine traditions and folklore are there. A diver brings up the 12 bottles of Frankstein grand cru submerged the previous year in the Bear fountain. The first three are sold at auction. Fans come from far away for the occasion. In Mittelbergheim, another wine-growing village, the winegrowers are organizing an event they have called “Hinter’m Kallerladen”, which literally means “behind the cellar window shutter”. It’s a celebration of “open cellars” where you can make great discoveries.

From May, “gourmet walks” are back almost everywhere. Participants follow a marked route of several kilometers (but easy) through the vineyards. At regular intervals, stops to taste small dishes and wine await walkers.

The Pentecost weekend (Whit Sunday) has been the time, for several years, for the “picnic at the winegrower’s”. The winegrowers who participate in the operation welcome visitors who each come with their packed lunch. The winegrowers pour their wines. Some even set up barbecues. Be careful, the event is very popular. You absolutely need to book. You will find the list of participating winegrowers on the website of the Vignerons Indépendants d’Alsace https://www.alsace-du-vin.com/

In spring, the summer crowds are not yet here but lovers of wine, gastronomy, hiking and heritage are present and they are delighted!

Summer – festivals and colorful events in Alsace

From the end of June to the end of September, it is the summer vacation season. Almost everywhere along the Alsace wine route, festivals and events follow one another, to the great joy of all. In Riquewihr, we can mention the Knepfelfascht (gastronomic festival around quenelle) in mid-June and the magnificent Venetian Parade, the first weekend in July. At our neighbors in Ribeauvillé: the Gastronomy and Wine Festival in July as well as the fabulous Pfifferdaj, the Ménétriers Festival which has been held for over 600 years (no, there is no typo) the first weekend in September. A major event that you must have seen at least once!

Straddling July and August, the great Colmar wine festival takes place over ten days. It’s a trade fair where you can find everything. A concert program features renowned artists who perform there every day.

To all those who stay in one of our gîtes at Les Remparts de Riquewihr, we share some good tips and suggestions to make the most of their summer stay in the heart of Alsace, in Riquewihr or La Vancelle.

Every summer, the tourist offices of Ribeauvillé-Riquewihr and Kaysersberg organize numerous guided tours led by guides who are experts in local heritage. There are also guided walks along the Grands Crus Wine Trail, every day from the beginning of July to the beginning of September. Alternating departures from Beblenheim, Bennwihr, Hunawihr, Mittelwihr, Riquewihr and Zellenberg.

At the end of August, there is the big Eguisheim wine festival and, just on the other side of the Rhine, the Breisach-am-Rhein wine festival where large crowds gather to taste the wines of Kaiserstuhl.

Our holiday apartments in Riquewihr

Discover our holiday vacation rentals, at the foot of the Alsace vineyard, in one glimpse.

From the studio to the large luxury apartment: our 10 romantic gites in Alsace provide some of the best self catering accommodation in Alsace.