Eguisheim, France – Of all the varietals which are grown here in Alsace, I am most taken by the muscat. I am used to sweet muscats, grown further south. While I love the flavor, I can only drink small amounts. The style produced here is dry, which makes for a delicate wine with a wonderful, flowery bouquet. It is the first wine I try in each winery along the way.
Visiting Equisheim, a touristy but charming little town along the Wine Route, we stumbled upon the winery of Jean-Louis et Fabienne Mann. Mr. Mann greeted us himself and poured some wonderful wine for us to taste. He then took us down to view the cellar. This was an interesting mixture of old and new. There was one old large, oak barrel, and some built-in ceramic ‘barrels’ from the 1950s. Mostly the Manns have moved over to using stainless steel for practicality.
There is lots of innovation going on here. Tucked away in a corner were smaller, new oak barrels. This is not traditional among the wines in the region, he explained. He was trying something new. This seemed to fit with Jean-Louis’ enthusiasm for wine making. The Mann wines are also organic: another example of both progressiveness and industry.
During our whole visit, he described the different soil types in the area. The winery has tracts of vineyard scattered around. Rather than simply mixing all the grapes of one varietal, and making more of one wine, the Manns choose to keep each vineyard and varietal separate. This gives them a distinctly different wines of the same type.
As you may have guessed, we loved the muscat. It is a dry wine with a remarkably sweet, floral nose. A wonderful combination. We also took some Pino Gris with us, which we enjoyed the next day with some fruit and cheese.
Jean-Louis et Fabienne Mann
6a rue de Colmar
68420 Eguisheim
Telefon: +33 389 242647
Geoffrey hails from the U.S., but has lived in Germany, Sweden, India and China. In his many travels he has sought out the best drinks to be found. He's burned his fingers on cups of Madras filter coffee in India, and discovered the effects of Baijiu on body and soul in China. He has tended bar at both a pub and Biergarten in Germany. He is co-author of a forthcoming publication on Udipi Restaurants.