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General Information
With its delightful landscape, exciting food, and large selection of wines, Alsace is one of the most attractive wine regions of France. Despite its rich history and culinary tradition, Strasbourg is not the wine capital of the region. This honor goes to Colmar, 70 km to the south.
Although Alsace is at the northeastern tip of France, the climate is well-suited for winegrowing. Spanning approximately 100 km, the vines follow the slope of the Vosges range, parallel to the Rhine river, usually between 150 and 400 meters of altitude. Sheltered from the cold, northwestern winds and rains by the Vosges mountains, the vineyards of Alsace enjoy a warm and sunny micro-climate, the driest in France with cold winters and long summers providing ideal conditions for crafting majestic white wine.
From the geological point of view, Alsace is a mosaic of different rock and soil types: sand and pebbles, marl and loess, limestone and clay, slate and granite. Because of this varied terrain and the variability in the protection the Vosges mountains offer, Alsatian wines run the gamut of styles within the white wine category. The best vineyards are situated in the slopes yielding intense, concentrated wines, while the lower altitude vineyards tend to produce light-bodied, fresh white wines.
Four centuries of territorial disputes between France and Germany have left their mark on the identity of Alsatian wines. Germanic influences are evident throughout the region, from the village names to the grape varieties grown. Despite some similarities however, Alsace wines show little resemblance to Germany's, reflecting Alsace's particular growing conditions.
The majority of Alsatian wines are either sweet or dry, medium-bodied white wines with pronounced aromas and flavors that derive from their grape varieties and the land rather than from winemaking techniques. Unlike other French wine regions, Alsace labels its wines by grape variety. Another distinctive feature of wine from Alsace is the traditional, tall slender bottle, called a "flute", and required by law.
Alsace's scenic 170-km Wine Road stretches through this picturesque region, from Marlenheim in the north to Thann in the south. It passes through charming medieval towns brightened by colorful half-timbered houses, flowering window boxes, and storks nesting on rooftops.
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Image guide to the wine regions of France
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Alsace wine region appellations
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Alsace AOC
This is the principal AOC. Most of the wines made in Alsace carry that appellation, which has existed since 1962. The label generally indicates one of the common grape varieties: Sylvaner, Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Muscat, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer, and the only red variety, Pinot Noir.
Alsace AOC also covers blended white wines. Regulations provide for a specific blended wine called Edelzwicker, made from any combination of Alsatian grapes. It is a light, innocuous and inexpensive wine.
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Alsace Grand Cru Appellation
Since 1983, a Grand Cru system has been in use in Alsace, covering the most prestigious, relatively small vineyards of the region.
This refers to wines produced according to stricter levels of quality, notably vineyard origin, vine yields and natural ripeness levels. With certain exceptions, only the 4 "noble" grape types - Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Muscat and Pinot Gris - may be used and must originate from one of the 51 vineyards classified as Grands Crus.
The grape, the vintage and the named vineyard are all shown on the label. As much as the grape variety, it is the terroir that gives its unique individual character to each AOC Alsace Grand Cru wine. The wines are more expensive than basic Alsace AOC wines and are usually higher in quality, with great aging potential.
Some famous Grands Crus: Kastelberg, Altenberg de Bergheim, Geisberg, Rosaker, Furstentum, Schoenenbourg, Schlossberg, Hengst, Sonnenglanz, Rangen.
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Cremant d'Alsace AOC
It is a sparkling wine made by the same traditional method used to make Champagne, which involves a second fermentation taking place in the bottle. Pinot Blanc is the main grape used, but Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Riesling, and Chardonnay are also permitted. The wine is light-bodied, fruity, delicate, and youthful.
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Sweet Wines
Alsace has two more categories of wine that cut across both the Alsace and Alsace Grand Cru appellations. They are not based on where the grapes grow, but on how ripe the grapes are when they are harvested. The grape varieties permitted are Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Muscat, or Pinot Gris.
Vendanges Tardives or VT: The name means late harvest to denote grapes that have been left on the vine to overripen, and thereby achieve higher levels of natural sugar, offering a good balance of sweetness and acidity.
Selections de grains nobles or SGN: The noble in the name of this category of dessert wine refers to the noble rot, botrytis, which affects the vineyards in some years and allows the growers to make Alsace's richest and most unctuous rare wines.
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Main Varieties of Grapes
Riesling: The finest as well as single most planted grape variety grown in Alsace, it produces impressive, bone-dry wines with a strong mineral character.
Gewurztraminer: Grown nowhere else in France, this grape gives full-bodied, exotic, perfumed wines.
Sylvaner: Produces generally neutral wines with a light mineral/stoney character.
Pinot Gris: It produces sumptuous, well-textured wines. The grapes quickly develop natural sugar content and are often harvested late as a sweet wine.
Pinot Blanc: Yields a light, crisp wine, and is most often encountered as the principle component in the sparkling wine, Cremant d'Alsace.
Pinot Noir: It is the only red grape variety permitted in Alsace and yields a slightly lighter wine than its Burgundian counterpart.
Muscat: Two distinct varieties of this little planted grape in Alsace fall under the "Muscat" label, generally in the form of a blend: "Muscat a petits grains" and "Muscat Ottonel".
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