Alsace

The wine-growing region is located in the north-east of France on the border with Germany formed by the Rhine. The departments of Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin formed a separate French administrative region of Alsace (Région Alsace) from 1973 to 2015. As part of the regional mergers, the Grand Est (Greater East) region was founded in 2016 with Strasbourg as its capital, comprising Alsace, Lorraine and Champagne-Ardenne.

History

Viticulture was already practised by the Celts (Gauls) before the Romans appeared here in the 2nd century. After a decline in the 5th century due to the Germanic invasion, it flourished again under the influence of the Roman Catholic monastic orders. In the 9th century, around 160 wine-growing villages are already documented.

In the 16th century, viticulture reached its greatest extent with more than double the number of vineyards compared to today. At this time, there was already a kind of appellation system and Alsatian wines were exported to all European countries. The Riquewihr winegrowers' association of the time stipulated the harvest time as "as late and ripe as possible" and the authorised "noble" grape varieties. The Elbling variety had to be uprooted. At the time, Alsace was considered the best German wine, which was often fortified with alcohol and flavoured with spices. The devastation of the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) destroyed most of the land.

German and French influences

By the middle of the 19th century, the vineyard area had grown again to 30,000 hectares. Then phylloxera and mildew struck here too. The area shrank to less than 10,000 hectares by 1950. For around seven centuries, Alsace was German territory. In 1860 it became part of France, then from 1870 to 1918 it was once again part of the German Empire before rejoining France. From 1871 to 1918 there was the Reichsland Alsace-Lorraine. Due to this historical development, Alsatian wine culture is characterised by German grape varieties and production and differs greatly from the other French wine-growing regions.

Vineyards, climate and soil

The vineyards cover 15,000 hectares of vines at the foot of the Vosges mountains in a narrow band, often only two kilometres wide, stretching from Strasbourg in the north 110 kilometres along the German border to Mulhouse in the south. The entire eastern border with Germany is formed by the Rhine.

The Vosges Mountains on the western side have a strong influence on the climate. The mountain range with the 1,424 metre-high Großer Belchen as its summit keeps out most of the rainfall coming from the Atlantic, which is why Alsace is one of the areas with the least rainfall in France. There are cold winters, a mild spring and warm, dry summers with periods of drought in some years. A special feature is the many different soil types with sand, gravel, loess, limestone, clay, slate, granite and volcanic rock.

Haut-Rhin and Bas-Rhin

Alsace is divided into the southern département of Haut-Rhin (Upper Rhine) and the northern département of Bas-Rhin (Lower Rhine). The Haut-Rhin used to have a somewhat milder climate than the northern Bas-Rhin, but climate change is bringing about changes. Due to global warming, the freshest and fruitiest wines are now increasingly coming from the centre and Bas-Rhin. The best terroirs lie along the hills from north to south, with the most productive areas in the plain. The wine-growing centre is a few villages to the north and south of Colmar with the famous Riquewihr. This wine-growing centre is now completely listed as a historical monument. The 170 kilometre long wine route "Route du Vin" from Marlenheim in the north to Thann in the south touches many of the wine-growing communities.

Grape varieties

The "seven vines of Alsace" are the white wine varieties Gewürztraminer, Muscat (the two varieties Muscat Blanc and Muscat Ottonel are often used together), Pinot Blanc (also - Pinot Blanc and Auxerrois), Pinot Gris (formerly Tokay Pinot Gris - but now banned by EU decision), Riesling and Sylvaner, as well as the only red wine variety Pinot Noir. The Chasselas variety produces rather simple wines. Chardonnay is only authorised for crémants (sparkling wines). Over 90% of the wine produced is white. Red wine is predominantly made from Pinot Noir and occasionally also pressed as Blanc de noirs white. The type of vinification (dry to sweet) is not indicated on the label.

In 1924, ten grape varieties were authorised by the INAO for AOC wines Alsace and Crémant d'Alsace and approved as VIFA (Variétés d'Intérêt à Fin d'Adaptation). They are grown experimentally to test their positive suitability. These are Chenin Blanc, Nebbiolo, Syrah and Vermentino, as well as the PIWI varieties Coliris, Johanniter, Opalor, Selenor, Souvignier Gris and Voltis. The wineries are allowed to work with the VIFA varieties for ten years on a maximum of 5% of the land and use them in cuvées with a maximum proportion of 10%.

Appellations

The AOC Alsace accounts for just under 75% of production. These are mostly varietal wines made from 100% of a variety specified on the label. If this is missing, it is a cuvée of different varieties, which are marketed as Edelzwicker (also Gentil). The Klevener de Heiligenstein from the municipality of Heiligenstein has a special status. The AOC Crémant d'Alsace for bottle-fermented sparkling wines accounts for over 20% of production.

The AOC Alsace Grand Cru applies to the 51 Grands Crus. Sweet wines have had a great tradition in Alsace for centuries. The designations "Alsace Vendange Tardive"(late harvest) and "Alsace Sélection de Grains Nobles"(noble rotten berries) are added to Alsace or Alsace Grand Cru. Vin de paille(straw wine) and vin de glace (ice wine) are also produced. In addition to crémant, Alsace wines are bottled in slender flûtes (flutes).

Producers

Well-known producers in Alsace include Léon Beyer, Domaine Bott-Geyl, Ernest Burn, Cave de Pfaffenheim, Marcel Deiss, Dirler-Cadé, Pierre Frick, Rémy Gresser, Domaine Jean-Marie Haag, Hugel et Fils, Josmeyer, Maison Jülg, Kreydenweiss, Kuentz-Bas, Seppi Landmann, André Ostertag, Martin Schaetzel, Domaines Schlumberger, Jean-Paul Schmitt, Schoffit, Vincent Stoeffler, Trimbach, Domaine Weinbach and Zind-Humbrecht.

By Domenico-de-ga from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link