Alsace, the first region I am studying on my French Wine Scholar (FWS) program and one that I visited in the summer of 2019. It’s really interesting to learn a bit about the history of Alsace and its changing nationality over the centuries from French to German, German to French, and so on, eventually returning to France for the last time at the end of the second world war in 1945. The region still bears the hallmarks of its switching nationality and that, too, has influenced the viticulture of the region.
Riquewihr, seen from the Schoenenbourg Grand Cru vineyard
The wine region runs north to south over a distance of about 75 miles with Strasbourg in the north and Mulhouse in the south. Despite being close to the limits of where vines can grow successfully, between 47 and 49 degrees latitude north (the northern limit in the northern hemisphere being around 50 degrees from the equator), thanks to the Vosges Mountains summers are warm, dry and sunny, ideal for ripening grapes to full ripeness. That’s not to say the region doesn’t have its problems (spring frosts and sporadic thunderstorms and hail, even drought occasionally) but the Vosges Mountains create a rain shadow, protecting the wine growing region from the rain clouds blown in by westerly winds.
Alsace is home to what are known as the four ‘noble’ grape varieties: Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer and Muscat, Pinot Gris (formerly known as Tokay d’Alsace) being the only one native to France. People often associate these grape varieties with sweet wines and they do, indeed, produce some exceptional sweet wines such as vendanges tardives and selection de grains nobles. However, the dry wines are generally fermented to dryness although climatic changes (warmers summers, greater ripeness) do mean that there is a trend for some wines having residual sugar and the alcohol levels are rising too.
Given that the majority of grapes grown in Alsace are aromatic the wine is generally fermented in stainless steel or large oak casks to avoid the transfer of any oak characteristics. The wines tend not to undergo malolactic fermentation either, preserving the purity and freshness of the wine. Some of the dry wines of Alsace are capable of great age worthiness and may undergo a long fermentation, sometimes on lees. The grape variety most associated with its ability to age, sometimes for decades, is Riesling.
Alsace has 53 AOC’s, 51 of which are Grand Cru designations, the other two being the Cremant d’Alsace AOC and the Alsace AOC (of which the Alsace Communal AOC and Alsace Lieu-Dit AOC are sub regions). Only about 4% of Alsace’s total wine production comes from the 51 Grand Cru AOCs, 23% is sparkling (Cremant) and the remaining 73% Alsace AOC. The Grand Cru sites have been recognised for their extraordinary terroirs and are for white wines only, specifically for the four noble varieties with the exception of one Grand Cru, Zotzenberg, which permits Sylvaner as well as Gewürztraminer, Riesling and Pinot Gris. Most of the Grand Cru wines are single varietals with two exceptions: Alsace Grand Cru Altenburg de Bergheim and Alsace Grand Cru Kaefferkopf. Each of these wines can be blends with specific proportions of certain grapes required in each case. In Alsace 80% of production is varietally labelled. Blends do exist such as Edelzwicker and Gentil. Gentil must contain specified varietals and undergo tasting panel approval.
When we visited Alsace we stayed in an apartment in the historic Remparts de Riquewihr, beautiful accommodation in the heart of the town. We visited a number of Domaines: Hugel, Trimbach, Ostertag, Josmeyer and Leon Beyer. Post to follow about their styles of winemaking and their wines. Alsace is, of course, about so much more than wine. As well as being a charming place to visit, packed full of colourful towns of half timbered houses dating back centuries, it is a gastronomic paradise too, home to 27 Michelin starred restaurants. And there are, of course, plenty of other restaurants serving very fine food as well. I feel very fortunate to have visited one of the many wine regions that I shall be studying on my FWS course. It helps to add context to what the book is telling me. And as for Alsace, when we are allowed to travel again it will be one of the regions to which we will return.