2026-05-03 Beblenheim Porte Ouverte & Hohlandsbourg Castle

 

Coming home from Bergheim yesterday, we saw a banner posted on a fence announcing a Porte Ouverte this weekend in Beblenheim. Now that sounded like something we should do. A porte ouverte is a winery open house, with free tastings, food, and activities. They're always fun.

To fill the other half of the day we will visit Hohlandsbourg castle. The crew (minus me) found this on their castle jaunt last week. But they didn't visit it because they found it is handicapped accessible and I could visit it with them. So today's the day.

First stop was Beblenheim for the Porte Ouverte. The Cave de Beblenheim is a medium sized cooperative located right in the middle of town. As has been our practice, we arrived at 10:30, just half an hour after its opening. We found parking right near the entrance where a worker was handing out glasses for tasting and a sheet with the program of the day. Most of the locals arrive around lunch time and by that time we are ready to leave. 

We picked up our tasting glasses at the entrance

As expected, there were only a few people mingling, most of them workers when we first entered. Workers had set up a tent over some picnic tables, a stage for music, and a tasting counter. Food trucks offering plates from Madagascar, Japan, a local brasserie, and an ice cream vendor were set up around the court and just beginning to prepare their lunch offerings.

Kim entering the courtyard where the porte ouverte is taking place.

Clark was attracted like a magnet to the tasting tent!

Panorama of the courtyard

Inside the tasting and sales room was less busy than the outside tasting area. 

Entrance to the tasting and sales room.

Janis in the tasting room

A very impressive tasting room!@

There were many wine-oriented offerings during the day, including a bus trip to a Grand Cru vineyard for tasting. Another was a guided walk in the nearby vineyards with tasting, and a third offered a tour of the cave itself. This last sounded appealing to the group, so they went off on the 11:00 tour.

Bottles of crémant ready for their final processing

The bottles of crémant go through a completely mechanized process at a rate of 6000 bottles per hour. First they are turned upside down, followed by flash freezing the neck, turning the bottles right side up, popping the bottle cap, removing the frozen yeast plug, adding a bit of wine to that now empty space, then corking, wiring the cork, adding the foil sleeve over the cork, labeling each bottle, and finally packing them in cartons for shipping and sales. Amazingly complex - using a lot of robotics - and costly. That explains why so few wine growers can make and bottle their own wines. 

Just the necks of the bottles are flash frozen which allows the yeast plug at the top of the bottle to be removed in another process.

corking and wiring the bottles

labeling the bottles

While they were touring, I went back outside. More people have arrived and clearly know each other as neighbors. There was a party atmosphere and a band was tuning up to start playing at 11:30. When they started playing, they were singing American 60s rock - in English. Right up my alley.

the band warming up

The group returned shortly after 11:00 and we headed back to the car to get out our lunch. There was a picnic table right next to our car and a WC just at the end of this courtyard. Next stop: Hohlandsburg Castle in Wintzenheim.

Hohlandsbourg Castle

Despite being on top of one of the higher peaks around us, this castle has a road leading right up to its gate with handicapped parking available. After paying the entrance cost, we walked through the portcullis gate and into a large courtyard. 

looking over  the ramparts at the parking lot below

Surrounded by high walls, turrets, and ramparts, this castle looks impregnable. (But it was destroyed in the 30 Years War. (1618-1648) 

view of the castle courtyard

The castle rises out of the granite stone itself and I wondered how they could even build it like that.

The stones start by filling up the uneven crevices between the rocks

Visiting the ramparts is amazing. Besides their views down on the castle, there are magnificent panoramas from every side of this perched castle. Imagine if it weren't hazy!

Dave taking a photo from the ramparts

Looking over the ramparts, we think at Turckheim

Dave's panorama of Hohlandsbourg Chateau

Having seen all we could, we zig-zagged our way down the mountain and back home. One more successful day in the books.

2026-05-02 Bergheim

 

First order of business today is groceries. There is a market in Colmar in St Joseph's square. Grocery bags in hand, some of the crew headed off in that direction. (I stayed behind to finish yesterday's blog.) 

Market stands all around St Joseph church

The Colmar market turns out to be large and with many food options. There was a fishmonger, 

Janis bought salmon

Dave bought strawberries

and of course we need olives. 

and of course we need olives.

The remaining things on the list will hopefully be found at the LeClerc store. As usual at LeClerc, it's divide and conquer with each going off to find one thing on the list. However, this time they are able to find everything needed.

Home for lunch on the patio and need to make afternoon plans. Consensus was to visit Bergheim, a Plus Beau Village just 20 minutes from here.

We parked in a lot just behind the church and from that spot, it was we saw some evidence that Bergheim may have had double walled defenses with a dry moat between them. 

Kids were riding bikes down into the dry moat. They went fast and some crashed. Looked like fun.

The dry moat and what we think are inner walls

We've become accustomed to looking for storks and the top of the church did not disappoint. This stork was posing for Clark's camera. 

Can you spot the nest with the young stork in it?

There it is!

Mama stork was guarding the nest from the rooftop.

The church made a striking outline rising above the defensive walls. Inside, it was typical of a village church. 

Notre Dame de l'Assomption

The altar in the church

Once in the center of town, the village's character began to really shine. Half timbered houses in an array of colors made the main street feel joyous. 

Who's that charming couple? Janis and Clark pose for a Christmas card photo.

We wandered to the far end of the village (about 5 blocks) to find the west entrance. 

The tall tower is the west entrance gate to the town.

Janis and I were struck by the pollarded trees that were lined up like soldiers just inside the gate. 

The French do a lot of pollarding of trees to get them to grow better canopies of shade and keep the trees a manageable size.

Janis, Clark, & Lynn inspecting the pollarded trees

Outside the gate was a bas relief with an explanation next to it. The figure is called LACK MI. 

He is taunting his pursuers by mooning them as he heads through the town gate of Bergheim. It would seem that Bergheim was a sanctuary city long before we ever knew about sanctuary cities. This character, well known in the region, illustrates the right to asylum recognized since 1361. The plaque notes that between 1530 and 1677, Bergheim welcomed 744 refugees guilty of crimes and petty infractions.

Of course, the area is surrounded by vineyards and the city is full of wine merchants offering tastings.

 Clark was looking for a grand cru sylvaner but couldn't find one in any of the wine merchant windows. Once home, Clark sleuthed the problem. This wine comes from Mittelbergheim and not Bergheim. Two cities 33 km apart. No wonder Clark couldn't find this wine. 

Home again. Tonight, there will be dessert. We've accumulated lots of dried up baguette pieces. So tonight Janis made bread pudding with whiskey sauce. (Delicious) And we have a large zip-lock bag of dried up bread cubes waiting for us in the freezer.

Janis in the kitchen