Visiting Alsace - the winery Zinck

We both use to prefer red wine over white wine. Few years ago we wanted to learn to drink white wines also. At first it was a rocky road but then we found the white wines from Alsace France and we were sold right away. 

Ever since we have been dreaming about visiting the area but somehow there has always been some other trip in the way. But this year we decided that it is now or never. And what a trip it was!

We planned the trip long and hard. One of the "must visit" villages was Eguisheim. It's situated next to Colmar. We rented bicycles from Colmar and had a nice easy drive to Equisheim that took less than 30 minutes. 

Eguisheim has so many interesting winerys that it was hard to decide which ones to visit. The winery Zinck sounded really interesting and we contacted them beforehand to organize a visit. Check the website to learn more about ZINCK.  We truly had an amazing visit at the winery. 

We learned so many things about wines but the thing that striked us most was the dedication, multitasking and know-how that it takes to grow wine. You nurture the grapes, learn from them, keep them safe and stay by them the whole process. We were really inspired by the whole visit!

The winery is over 50 years old. At Zinck old and new methods are combined in the wine making process. The grapes are hand picked but they are crushed by machines. The fermentation is done in large steal tanks without added yeast. The harvest time is always different and it's decided by visiting the yards every day to see when the right time is. 

The wines are devided in three categories; Portrait, Terroir and Grand Cru. These categories are kind of hard the explain but the basic idea is that the different terms describe several environmental aspects that affect wine. The Grand Cru is the best of the best. The Grand Cru wines get better with time as the Portraits are at their best in few years. The main idea of Philippe Zinck is to make great balanced wines with character that are yet easy to drink. 

Zinck has seven different portrait wines. Our favourite was Riesling 2015 (8.50€) which was full of taste and had a nice acidity to it. From the terroir 2015 wines our favourites were Riesling (14.50€), Muscat (12.50€) and Pinot Gris (14.50€). The terroir wines were softer than portrait wines and had a velvety feel. For us the Muscat was the most interesting. You have that sweet scent but then it tastes dry. Just had to buy it! From the Grand Crus we fell in LOVE with the Pinot Gris Rangen (30€) that was just a most perfect dessert wine ever.

You can find lots of information about the wines on Zinck website. There are for example recommendations for matching food and wine and how long to cellar each wine.

They also make spectacular cremant! The cremant is made of 100% Pinot Noir grapes. And look at the labels! They are soooooo cute!

After wine tasting we had a wonderful lunch at the restaurant Au Vieux Porche located at the winery. The food was excellent, fresh and tasty. 

As a starter we enjoyed home made foie gras which was the best we had the whole trip. It just melted in your mouth. 

Tuna tartar was also excellent! Fresh and well made. 

We asked the waitress to pair the dishes with Zinck wines and she did a marvellous job! 

Our wonderful waitress and the Philippe's sister who runs the restaurant

As main dish Pauliina had sea bass with fennel. It was so good!

Mirka's choice was cock with crispy bacon and home made spaetzle. A great dish as well. 

The desserts were spot on! The Chocolate Fondant was perfectly prepared.

The inside was runny and rich just the way it should be. 

When Mirka saw the triple crème brûlée on the menu she almost died and went to heaven! Nothing in the world is better than a perfect crème brûlée but three of them!

After an amazing lunch we enjoyed cappuccinos and headed toward new adventures. Going to tell you all about it later.

We had a most amazing day in Eguisheim and can sincerely recommend both the village and the winery for a visit. Thank you Philippe and Pascale for a visit that we will never forget! We dream of coming back some day!

Philippe and his lovely wife Pascale