Un pique-nique en Alsacea

A pique-nique with wine

It is the time to recall this grandiose summer we had here in Europe this year. A lot of sunshine and a tropical heat gave us great opportunities to stay outside.
I had a great time travelling through the Alsace in France and enjoyed the local specialities there. There are delicious things like pasty, salami and all kind of cheese, ah, and of course the baguette.

What else? Well, you know me good enough by now to guess what we had with the food: Of course, an outstanding wine of the region.

The Alsace is one of the French wine regions but given by its history and geography, next to Germany, it is more influenced by the German viticulture.
Here most wines are made of a single grape variety which is named on the bottle whereas in the other parts of France the wines usually are blended and the “appellacion d'origine” (designation of origin) is the predominant characterization.

Another analogy to Germany are the grape varietals which are cultivated here. Riesling is the most common one, alongside with Gewürztraminer, Pinot Blanc or the Sylvaner.

We had a Riesling together with our specialities at the picnic in the green near the lovely city of Colmar. Riesling is a great all-rounder to pair with a lot of different kind of food and flavours.

À votre santé!

About bread and grape varieties

A German Brotzeit with wine

There are almost innumerous grape varieties in Germany but have you ever heard about how many variations of bread we have? Over 1,000! Yes, bread... different! And I am not talking about different shapes but of different recipes. Bread is kind of a national heritage and national pride. No surprise that we have an own meal we “celebrate” regularly, called Brotzeit (bread-time), like the tea-time in good old Britain.

Most common is sourdough rye bread, which you can have as basis for either sweet or savory toppings. Especially in the southern part of Germany you have a cold dish in the evening, with sausages, ham, cheese and pickles in all different variations. This is a Brotzeit.

I had goat cream cheese as basis layer and a topping of tomatoes, fresh and dried, with some green garnish from the herb garden. A perfect summer dish.

And what would suit better than a summer wine? The typical summer wine, in my point of view, is a chilled rosé. This one is a rosé of the Muskattrollinger grape from the Württemberg region, which is the main growing region of this grape. Muskattrollinger is a blue grape also known as Muscat Hamburg, which originally is a table grape. But the crazy Germans make wine of everything, even from table grapes.

The spicy, highly aromatic flavor is a reminiscent of the Muscat aroma and the slightly sweet taste pairs perfectly with the creamy cheese and the tomatoes. With 11% vol. alcohol this is a nice fellow for these warm evenings on the terrace.

What are your favorite terrace pairings?

Stay tuned