Erica's Wine Blog: Alsace, France Wine Region Report

Close up view of Alsace, France

Alsace, France is a wine region with quite a long history. It borders Germany along the Rhine

river, France’s eastern boundary. It started off as a land of nomads and was soon taken over by

the Romans in 58 BC. The Romans declared it a center for viticulture and that is where its

winemaking history begins. During the Middle Ages, Alsace was traded between many different

nobles. In the early 800s, it fell under the rule Middle Francia and by the late 800s, it was under

the Kingdom of Germany. Then the Holy Roman Empire took control for 900 years and the

Kingdom of France took the region back. It went back and forth between France and Germany

for a while until the end of World War II when Nazi Germany fell. France has had control of

Alsace ever since. It was not until 1975 that the INAO recognized Alsace as a Grand Cru AOC

region because even though France had taken the region back, German or local law was in effect

for some time afterward.

France highlighted on the world map.

Alsace highlighted within France

Alsace is divided into two regions, Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhine which are north and south

respectively. They both grow grapes on the lower slopes that face east towards Germany. Both

sub-regions go by the same classification system and produce very similar wines.

The slopes of Alsace, France

There are four different classes in Alsace which are Alsace Grand Cru AOC, Alsace AOC,

Cremant d’Alsace AOC and Vin de Table. Almost all wines from the region are AOC wines and

Vineyards of Alsace, France

there are no Vin de Pays in Alsace. This means that if it is not an AOC wine, then it must be a Vin de Table which cannot include the grape variety, region of origin or vintage on the label. Cremant d’Alsace AOC means that it is a sparkling wine. Alsace AOC can be a red, white or rose wine and they have very few restrictions compared to Alsace Grand Cru AOC. Alsace Grand Cru AOC includes 55 vineyards out of the 120 in the region. In order to include this

label, the winery must only produce single noble varieties. The four noble grapes are Riesling, Muscat, Gewarztraminer and Pinot Gris. Varietals that are named after grapes is unheard of in France expect for in this region. The vineyard must be at an altitude between 200m and 300m and the yield must be 65 hectoliter per hectare or less. It must be a single named vineyard of Grand Cru status and the vineyard’s name must be on the bottle.

Any wine produced in Alsace must be in tall bottles called flutes d’Alsace and this is a legal requirement. Late harvest classifications include Vendage Tardive and Selection de Grains Nobles. Vendage Tardive is used in making dessert wines where the grapes stay on the vine until they dehydrate. Selection de Grains Nobles is also used for dessert wines, but it depends

upon the grapes being affected by noble rot. Alsace was the first to coin the term Selection de Grains Nobles and it did not have a legal definition until 1984.

Bottles of wine from Domaine Emile Beyer

As you might have guessed, 90% of the wine produced in Alsace is white. The two biggest

being Riesling and Gewurtz. 23% of the white wines made in Alsace are Riesling, followed

closely behind by Gewurtz with 18%. Alsace is known for its dry white wines as that is what s

separates is from German white wines. Some wineries are starting to experiment with leaving

some residual sugar in their wines, but it may be a while until they can be mass produced due to

the strict wine laws in France. They are trying this with Pinot Gris and Gewurtzraminer, so it

will be interesting to see what becomes of it.

Vineyard in Alsace, France with a glass of white wine

Alsace has a very interesting climate for viticulture and this of course affects the wines produced.

The soil is a mix of block, pebble, gravel, sand, silt and clay. The sand helps with drainage, clay

with providing nutrients and the rest of the mixture helps sustain the life of microorganisms

which are needed for reactions such as producing Nitrogen in a form where the plant can use it.

The total rainfall per year is around 680 mm and the daily average is 7.5 mm. Alsace’s dry days

just about equal how many wet days they have. In the summer, the hottest it gets is 80°F and in

the winter, the coldest it gets is about 30°F. These are pretty stable temperatures compared to

what we deal with here in Virginia. In order to get the most sunlight, vineyards should be

between a 30° and 60° inclination facing South-East to South. Alsace has several valleys which

is where many vineyards are planted. The highest point is Grand Ballon in Haut-Rhin and it is 1426m. Alsace is only 8238 km² and is the fifth smallest region of France’s 27 regions.

Alsace wines tend to be very aromatic wines with aromas of floral and spice. They rarely see

Bottel label from Hugel & Fils

any time in the barrel as most of them are dry, white wines. However, Alsace produces 8% of its red wines from Pinot Noir. These wines are rarely exported as most are consumed in the region. Some of the largest wine producers are Maison Trimbach, Domaine Zind-Humbrecht, Hugel & Fils, Leon Beyer, Weinbach, Josmeyer and Marcel Deiss. If the label includes “Domaine”, then all the grapes are supposed to be from their vineyard. Many of these larger producers not only sell their own wine but also wine produced from bought grapes. This seemed a little odd since from my understanding, if a vineyard is large enough then they don’t need to use bought grapes. If one takes a moment to think about the regulations of only producing so many hectoliters perhectare then their dilemma starts to make sense. Only 35% of Alsace wines are AOC designated, so most vineyards do not have to abide by these standards.

Bottles from Maison Trimbach

Alsace, like many wine regions in France and across Europe is caught somewhere in between sticking to its famous laws and rules while keeping up with the new world. Alsace starting to keep some residual sugar in some of its wine is a big deal. I think this will become a great center for innovation of white wines if France loosens its laws surrounding their wines.