Marlenheim is where the Alsace Wine Route begins, or at least its northern end, and a sign on the edge of the village announces it. From here, a signposted trail of about a hundred and seventy kilometres winds south along the foothills of the Vosges, linking over a hundred villages built among the vines. The first impression is of low hills in ordered rows, half-timbered houses with flower boxes at every window, and storks nesting on chimneys and church towers. In spring, the white blossom on the cherry trees brings a sudden, brief brightness.
The village has an old story. In the early Middle Ages, it was a royal estate of the Merovingian kings, and tradition says that Dagobert held court here, but little of that survives beyond the name. What it does have is wine. Marlenheim is known for its red wine, rare in a region famous for whites, made from Pinot Noir on the slopes around, and for a delicate pink version, so this is one of the few places in Alsace where a bottle of red is the natural choice with lunch. Neighbouring Wasselonne, a few kilometres up the road, has a hilltop castle ruin and a pleasant market.
As a start, this is a gentle, rolling landscape. The road follows a line of villages on the lower slopes of the Vosges, with vines to one side and farmland to the other, and the gradients are mild, the bends easy and the surface good. It is not a mountain road, but it makes a lovely warm-up, and the rhythm of village after village, each with its own fountain and church, is soothing. Traffic can be busy in harvest season and on summer weekends, with tractors and sightseers, so take your time. Fuel is available in Wasselonne, which has nearly six thousand people, as well as in nearby Strasbourg, about twenty-five kilometres east, and in the larger roadside stations on the main road.
Stop for coffee and a slice of kugelhopf in a village bakery. In autumn, the vineyards turn gold and crimson, and grapes are carried in tubs through the narrow streets, which smell sweetly of fermenting must. It is an extraordinary time to be here, as long as you are patient with the tractors.