French Moselle
The Moselle river rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. The German and Luxembourg stretches of the river are famous for the wines made from the vineyards which line its sides.
Strangely, wines from the French sections of the Moselle river are greatly underappreciated. It is strange for many reasons. First, the topography is fairly similar between the three countries.
And back in time, the Moselle region near the town of Metz was a major wine producer. Metz was indeed a garrison town, with lots of thirsty soldiers.
But the Phylloxera bug wiped out much of the region’s vineyards in the 19th century. And few were replanted, as the region turned to industry. Also, the advent of railways meant that wine could be easily sourced from other reasons. The wine heritage of the region is evident in one of the street names, “Rue des Vignes”.
But in more recent times, winemakers have been making efforts to resuscitate French Moselle wines. One example is that of Norbert Molozay and his wife Marie-Geneviève.
Norbert is known as the “Flying winemaker”, thanks to his experience in New Zealand, Australia and the US, but also Burgundy, Beaujolais, Alsace and Languedoc. Marie-Geneviève belongs to the fifth generation of a family of wine merchants from Metz.
In 1999, the couple took over the Château de Vaux, nearby to Metz, with the conviction that the region has an extraordinary potential.
So yesterday I visited the Château de Vaux where Caroline offered a wonderful tasting of its wines.
Being an intrepid wine walker, I could hardly taste them all. After all, they make reds and whites, dry and semi-sweet whites, sparkling whites as well as some wines “hors piste”.
But I did greatly appreciate the wine made from several white grape varieties — riesling, pinot gris, Müller-Thurgau, and Gewurztraminer — along with a red made from pinot noir.
Winemaking is the “art of harmony”, and these wines certainly balanced acidity and fruit, with a touch of sweetness.
I was very fortunate that Caroline could explain to me these poorly known and understood wines and the history of the region. She also pointed me up the hill slope to some vineyards (see photo) owned by the Château de Vaux. I bravely carried up and down my backpack with a bottle of “Pylae Pinot Gris” that I bought.
There is also “La Route des Vins de Moselle”, which guides motorists through the French Moselle region. Next time, I might hire a taxi to take me through.
The cheeky photo is of course me with a waitress at my luncheon restaurant. What did I eat? Quiche Lorraine, quite naturally. Because the French Département de la Moselle is part of the broader region of Lorraine!