Bergheim, Alsace
Wine walking is not so easy on weekends. High-speed train services are limited for my favourite areas. Thus, missing a train can thus create a minor calamity, like today.
France might be good at high-speed train technology, but the automatic ticket machines often don’t work. And today when a train officer helped me, he made a mess of my booking. I had to go back and have him change my booking. And of course, he blamed me!
I eventually made it to my destination of Bergheim, my favourite wine walking village in Alsace. I am not the only one in love with Bergheim. It was voted the French people’s favorite village in 2022.
Bergheim is similar to the other Alsatian villages I have visited. Beautiful medieval houses, churches and public buildings. It also still has 2 kilometers of 14th century ramparts, flanked by majestic towers. Its ubiquitous flowers give the village an incomparable romantic atmosphere.
Bergheim lies 17 km north of Colmar, on the border of Upper and Lower Alsace. Its origins remain uncertain but the discovery of a Roman mosaic attests to the presence of « villas » at this period.
The entire population was reportedly wiped out by two wars and the plague in the 17th-18th centuries. To replace the population, thousands of people from other countries were invited to immigrate to Bergheim. The majority of people who immigrated at that time were Swiss, German, Hungarian, Austrian, or Romanian.
There are numerous charming little restaurants offering Alsatian cuisine. Traditional Alsatian dishes include baeckeoffe, flammekueche, choucroute, cordon bleu, Vol-au-vent, spaetzle, fleischnacka, bretzel, and Zewelwaï. The region’s version of coq au vin is coq au Riesling. Dear reader, if you don’t know these dishes, please go straight to Google!
But for me, of course, wine walking was the priority. Of all the many Alsatian villages I have visited, Bergheim is the best for wine walking. From the top of the town, I walked straight into vineyards. And when I found a trail, I could follow it almost forever.
The coteaux (hill slopes) roll over and over, with wonderful vistas to other villages in the distance, and the Vosges mountains up high, topped by fortresses.
Bergheim is Alsace’s capital of the Gewurztraminer – an aromatic and fruity grape variety that can be spectacular when it is “late harvested” (Vendange tardive). The resulting wine is usually rich, intense and honey-like. I did have a glass of Vendange tardive Gewurztraminer with my Flammekueche (flaming tart) at lunch.
This wonderful village also produces Riesling, Muscat, and Pinot Gris. The village has two grand crus, Kanzlerberg and Altenberg. As I was visiting on a Sunday, winemakers were closed, preventing me from doing some wine tasting.