Historically, the geographical area of Alsace has belonged to both France and Germany. It is now part of France, but not without considerable German influence in her wines, including the Germanic Hock-bottle shape. Like Germany, only the white wines of Alsace are of real world class, and similar grape varieties are grown. However, Alsace wines tend to be drier, more full-bodied and higher in alcohol than their German counterparts - being vinified so that more of the sugar is converted to alcohol during fermentation.
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Location
In
north-eastern France, near the German border on the River Rhine.
Grapes
- White: Sylvaner, Pinot Blanc, Riesling,
Pinot Gris, Muscat and Gewurztraminer.
- Red: Pinot Noir.
Look Out For
- Riesling: spicy and citrusy
- Gewurztraminer: spicy and fragrant
- Pinot Gris (Tokay Pinot Gris):
smoky, earthy and honeyed
- Muscat: intensely floral, grapy aroma
- Pinot Blanc: lush and
aromatic
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Labelling
In Alsace there is a tradition of varietal labelling: no 'cutting' is allowed. If a grape is named on the label, then the content of it must be 100%.
Unlike Burgundy with its scores of individual Apellation Contrôlée areas, the whole of the Alsace region is covered by only two ACs: Alsace and Alsace Grand Cru. This designation will appear on the label, along with the grape variety. The term 'grand cru' is an indication that the wine has a minimum alcohol content of 10 or 11% and meets some perfunctory yield requirements.
Dry Wines
When it comes to aromatic white wines, no region in the world can match Alsace. These wines all share a rich, dry spiciness, a fatness quite unlike anything from the rest of France, or anywhere else in the world.
- Gewurztraminer is the spiciest, most fragrant grape, setting the benchmark for the aromatic white wine style, with its rich rose and lychee scent.
- The Sylvaner grape, which normally produces a light, dry and rather earthy wine, has a touch of spice when produced in Alsace.
- Riesling, which is limy and toasty in Australia, smoky and peachy in Germany, has a definite bite of spice in Alsace.
- Pinot Gris is rich, smoky, earthy and honeyed.
- Alsace also produces a small amount of Muscat, which has a wonderfully floral, grapy aroma, almost as intense as that of Gewurztraminer.
All these wines go well with food, particularly spicy foods, or foods that mix sweet and savoury flavours. They're good wines to choose in a restaurant as they will go with a whole range of different foods. Riesling is the best all-round food wine, whereas Gewurztraminer and Pinot Gris are especially good with Chinese and other Asian foods. They are all delicious on their own, too, especially Muscat.
Sweet Wines
These wonderful sweet wines are only made in the best years from nobly rotten grapes, and consequently they're rare and expensive. These luscious wines are called Selection de Grains Nobles, and are especially enjoyable when drunk with foie gras.
Late Harvest Wines
Grapes left to develop beyond the usual harvest time develop extra ripeness. Alsace wines made from these grapes are called Vendange Tardive (late harvest), and they are full-bodied and alcoholic, ranging in sweetness from richly dry to dessert-sweet.
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