A much stricter selection of late harvest that are sweet in a style similar to a Hungarian Tokaji or a Sauternes/Barsac from Bordeaux. Rainfall in Colmar is 500 mm, but can vary greatly between sites, and is the driest city in France. For this guide we’ll discuss what the major Alsace grape varieties and styles of wine are as well as some history for relevance. For both VT and SGN, Alsace wines tend to be higher in alcohol and therefore slightly lower in sugar than the corresponding German wines. The wine is medium bodied and has perfect, soft tannin. The region is broken up into two parts: Contrary to logic, the Bas-Rhin is actually to the north and the Haut-Rhin is in the south, but the difference is all elevation. Along with Austria and Germany, it produces some of the most noted dry Rieslings in the world as well as highly aromatic Gewürztraminer wines.

These wines are consumed largely in the region, in Alsace. Round and structured, the more intense, vegetal characters will develop with bottle age in place of the primary red fruit flavours. Sparkling wines known as Crémant d'Alsace are also made. We've written a wine book that won the award World's Best Wine Book for Professionals and another that's been awarded Best Wine Book in Sweden for Professionals. @WineFolly, The Bas-Rhin (to the North, by Strasbourg), Haut-Rhin (to the South in low slopes of the Vosges Mountains). On WBI's Power List of wine journalists. Producers calling themselves "Domaine", such as Zind-Humbrecht, are supposed to only use grapes from their own vineyards. Blends within these varieties are allowed for AOC Alsace, Called Tokay d'Alsace before 1994 and later Tokay Pinot gris. Round and structured, the more intense, vegetal characters will develop with bottle age in place of the primary red fruit flavours. The producer Aimé Stentz produces a late harvest Pinot blanc known as Pi-Noblesse, which is ineligible for either VT or SGN labelling. However, this solution is mostly avoided since edelzwicker and gentil may be blended from several varieties, i.e. Given its very low concentration of tannins, the Pinot Noir red wine pairs well with pork, poultry and even fish! Its perilous location on the border of Germany and France made the area a tug-of-war for centuries. The producers in Alsace do not use oak aging to add spice and richness, instead they rely on a balance of ripeness and alcohol to fill out the flavor.

A dark ruby colour this natural wine has bright red cherry fruit flavours, delicate tannins and beautiful length. Alsace wine or Alsatian wine (French: Vin d'Alsace; German: Elsässer Wein; Haut Rhin Alsatian: d'r Wii vum Elsàss; Bas Rhin Alsatian: de Win vum Elsàss) is produced in the Alsace region in France and is primarily white wine. Get this map in the Wine Folly Shop Unlike most other French wine regions, there exists no Vin de pays designation for Alsace. Over the last decades, plantings of Riesling, Pinot noir and in particular Pinot gris have increased, while Sylvaner (once the most grown variety) and Chasselas have been on the decrease. Most Alsace wines are single-varietal bottlings and unlike other French regions, are … An SGN is great sweet wine, full bodied and smooth without being heavy yet retaining the fresh and aromatic grape character. Therefore, Riesling VT and Muscat VT tend to be semi-sweet rather than sweet, while Gewürztraminer and Pinot gris tend to be rather sweet already at VT level. It was once notably light but in an increasingly warm climate its colour is darkening and it is taking on more weight.