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ALSACE WINES
Contrary to other French wine regions, the wines of
Alsace are not named after the villages or vineyards
from which they come, but after the grape variety.
Alsace wines are made from seven varieties : Sylvaner,
Pinot Blanc, Riesling, Muscat d'Alsace, Tokay Pinot Gris,
Gewurztraminer and Pinot Noir.
 All
must by law be bottled in the region of production, in
the traditional slender Alsace bottle.
Muscat d'Alsace is dry and very different from the sweet
Muscats of the South of France. It is very aromatic and
reveals the true flavour of the fresh grape.
Sylvaner is a remarkably fresh and light wine with a
delicate flavour, Refreshing and easy to enjoy, it is
lively and sometimes vivacious.
Pinot Blanc, well-rounded yet delicate, combines
freshness and softness, representing the happy medium in
the range of Alsace wines.
Tokay Pinot Gris develops a characteristic roundness and
opulence. Rich, full-bodied and with a long finish, its
complex aroma is reminiscent of woodland and is
sometimes slightly smoky.
Pinot Noir is the only Alsace variety to produce red or
rosé wines, characteristically fruity with hints of
cherry. Vinified as a red wine. it can be aged in oak
casks, which adds greater structure and complexity to
its aromas.
Riesling is dry, refined and delicately fruity, with an
elegant bouquet of mineral or
floral notes. Acknowledged as one of the finest white
varietals in the world, it is a gastronomic wine par
excellence.
Gewurztraminer, full-bodied and well-structured, is
probably the best-known Alsace wine. Its intense bouquet
displays rich aromas of fruit, flowers and spices (gewurz
= spicy). Powerful and seductive, sometimes slightly
sweet, it can often age well.
Klevener
de Heiligenstein is a less aromatic variety derived from
the old Traminer or Savagnin rose, also greatly
appreciated with food. It is produced exclusively in and
around Heiligenstein.
Alsace
Wine Information
Alsace
produces excellent dry and sweet white wines. They are
so typical that the grape varieties used only grow in
Alsace and nowhere else.
The most basic information on the wine in
Alsace
are:
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Wines
from Alsace
More
than 90% of the wines in Alsace are white. Riesling and
Gewurzt are among the best white wines in France. Wine
makers raise them in a style you can't find no where
else but in a wine from Alsace.
The
most important wines in
Alsace
are:
Riesling (23% of Alsace wines)
Gewurztraminer (18%)
Pinot Blanc (20%)
Tokay Pinot Gris (13%)
Sylvaner (12%)
Crémant d'Alsace (a sparkling wine)
Other wines from Alsace are: Vendanges Tardives (late
harvest), Edelzwicker, Muscat, Pinot Noir, etc.
Alsace wine and food:
White wines from
Alsace
such as
Riesling,
Sylvaner and
Pinot Blanc go very well with fish and seafood
meals.
Gewurztraminer is better with foie gras, spiced
dishes, strong cheeses or as a dessert wine.
Food in Alsace:
People in
Alsace
loves good food. Here are just a few examples of what
Alsace is famous for when it comes to food:
-
The classic choucroute (means sauerkraut in French):
various parts of pork and cabbage
- Tarte flambée (or Flammekueche): pastry with cream,
bacon, and onions
- Coq-au-Riesling: cooked with Riesling wine
Alsace food and wine:
The
table below help you match a typical food from
Alsace
with a wine of the same region:
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Cheeses from Alsace:
The following cheese is made in Alsace:
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Munster
Serving of Wines
Alsace wines should be served chilled, but not too
cold (6 to 10°C) in longstemmed glasses. Crémant
d'Alsace is served between 5 and 7°C in flute or
tulipe glasses.
Alsace wines are normally enjoyed when they are
youngs, that mean from 1 to 5 years after their
harvest. However, "Grands Crus", "Vendanges tardives"
and "Sélections de grains nobles" will benefit from
longer bottle-ageing. |
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Making of Alsace Wines
Wine making in France
It
is difficult to speak of winemaking. The saying goes
in France there are as many wines as vineyards.
Every winemaker brings his one touch before, during,
and after the wine making process.
Each choice in the successive steps of the
elaboration of wine has repercussions on the taste
and the quality of the wine :
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The choice of the terroir
-
The climate (and the date of harvest)
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The choice of the grape-variety, it is determinant
-
The type of container in which the fermentation
will take place
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The temperature at which the juice of grape is
maintained during the fermentation
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The fermentation period
-
The type of container in which the maturation will
take place
Nobody can pretend there is only one unique method
of making wine. That is the beauty of wine as
winemakers are also responsible for the incredible
diversity of wines we can choose from.
Needless to say that winemaking requires
"savoir-faire" and experience. A winemaker is not
only an artisan but also an artist.
Red wine making
The steps in the red wine making process are:
Crushing and
de-stemming the grapes
The
grapes just arriving in the cellar are crushed
and de-stemmed to release their juice and pulp.
The must obtained that way is put in a tank to go
trough the process of fermentation.
Alcoholic fermentation
Fermentation is a natural process. Yeasts living in
the grapes - the addition of selected yeasts is
generalizing - change the sugar contained in the
must in alcohol and carbonic gas (see also the
composition of wine).
The winemaker assists the action of the yeasts by
maintaining the temperature around 25 to 30°C and by
ventilating the must regularly. Under 25°C the wine
will not have enough body, above 30°C, the wine will
be to tannic.
The fermentation process goes on for 4 to 10 days
until the maceration and then the
malolactic fermentation.
Maceration
It is the period when the tannic elements and
the color of the skin diffuse in the fermented
juice. The contact between the liquid (must) and the
solids elements (skin, pips and sometimes stem) will
give body and color to the wine.
At this stage, complex operation will prove the
talent of the winemaker: dissolution, extraction,
excretion, diffusion, decoction, infusion.
For "Vins primeurs" or "Vins nouveaux" (new wines)
the maceration is very short. The vines are supple
and contain little tannin. Wines destined to be kept
long need a lot of tannin, so the maceration needs
to be long. The wine will macerate for several days,
maybe several weeks.
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Raking
The wine is separated from the solids, the pomace. The
wine obtained by raking is called "free run wine" (vin
de goutte).
Sometimes, the pomace is pressed in order to extract the
juice it still contains. This wine is called "press
wine" (vin de presse). It is richer in tannin.
Depending on the winemaker taste or the local habit,
free run wine and press wine are blended or treated
separately.
Malolactic fermentation
It is the process during which the malic acid of
wine changes into lactic acid and carbonic gas under the
action of bacteria living in the wine. Malic acid is
harsh, it is changed into lactic acid supple and stable.
This fermentation is obtained in a tank during a few
weeks at a temperature between 18° and 20°C.
Stabilization
The wine making process is finished but the wine is
not. To be able to age and to improve the wine must be
clarified again. After that the beverage will be put in
oak casks where it will stabilize.
The diversity of red wine is such that it can match any
type of food. But you must absolutely not conclude from
this that all red wines taste the same.
White
wine making
White
wine
is not really white but, in fact yellow. But the
expression being universal one says of a yellow wine
that it is white.
Vinification of white wine is more delicate than
vinification of red wine.
Two methods coexist to make white wine:
1. The first one is to use
white grape ( which is in fact green, greenish
yellow, golden yellow or pinkish yellow!). That way the
white wine is the result of the fermentation of the
juice of white grapes juice only.
2. The second method is more complex. One uses the juice
of
red grape-variety cleared of it skin and pips, with
which it must absolutely not get in contact as they
contain the coloring substances. It is possible to get
white wine that way but it is seldom done (see also
11 steps to make wine). |
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Time
is counted:
Immediately after their arrival in the cellar, the
grapes are crushed but not de-stemmed. The juice (free
run must) is sent to settle in containers. The rest of
the grapes is pressed as quickly as possible. Air is the
enemy of white wine. At its contact the wine oxidizes or
becomes colored. The must from pressing is added to the
free run must.
Preparation of the must :
After six to twelve hours the particles and impurity
of the grape separate from the must and float on the
surface. They are removed by the raking of must. The
must is ready to be clarified. The clarified juice is
poured in a tank, ready to ferment.
Alcoholic fermentation :
White wine results of the fermentation of must only.
No solid (stem, skin, pips...) intervenes.
The control of the temperature is essential. It has to
be maintained around 18° C. The winemaker regularly
cools the must to allow the yeast to work correctly.
The fermentation goes on for two to three weeks. The
winemaker daily checks the evolution of the process.
When fermentation is over, the wine is put in cask and
raked, just like a red wine then it is bottled.
Winemakers often choose oak casks which gives the wine
the tannin it needs. But it will not be sufficient,
tannin is the essential element for aging. It is why
white wine does not keep as long as
red wine.
On the other hand white wines present a larger variety
of tastes: very dry, dry, semi-dry, mellow, syrupy,
petillant, sparkling, madeirized...
White wine can be drunk on any occasion: before,
with or after a meal, and even between meals.
White wines are often considered as aperitif wines,
sometimes as desert wines. Many people like to drink
white wine in hot weather. Its refreshing qualities are
very well known. White wine is served fresh but not
chilled.
Rosé wine making
First
of all Rosé wine is not a blending of red and
white wines (abstraction made of the exceptional case of
the Rosé de Champagne).
Rosé wine is made from
red grape-varieties. And, nowadays, many winemakers
mix a certain amount of
white grapes with the red.
The elaboration of rosé wine is delicate. It is probably
why the amateur is sometimes disappointed by the quality
of a rosé. Particularity, European rosé is "dry". On the
contrary, American rosé is sweet and similar to white
wine.
There are at least three methods of making rosé wine:
Gray or pale rosé wine
The grapes are pressed as soon as they arrive in the
cellar. It allows a quicker diffusion of the color in
the must.
The juice is left a very short time in contact with the
skin. No more than a few hours! That way the must is
delicately colored.
Rosé wine is then made in the same way as a
white wine, fermentation of the must cleared of
solid elements with out any more maceration. The
winemaker obtains a gray or pale rosé wine (for Gris de
Bourgogne or Rosé de Loire).
Colored pink wine
To obtain a colored pink wine the grapes are put in
the fermentation tank after having been crushed. The
juice quickly enriches itself in alcohol with the
temperature going up (in the tank).
At the contact of the solid element the color quickly
diffuses. The winemaker chooses the intensity of the
color by controlling a sample every hour. When he is
satisfied he devattes.
The wine is evacuated in another tank to finish
fermenting. The must left in the original tank is
evacuated and not used for rosé any more.
The bleeding
To obtain an even more intense color, once an hour,
during the initial fermentation the winemaker takes out
of the tank a certain amount of juice.
When the color is satisfying, the wine making process
goes on as for a white wine. Rosé de Provence are obtain
by that method.
Why
wine does not turn into vinegar ?
Sulphur dioxide, in spite
of its barbaric name, is an element indispensable for
the quality of the wine (see
composition of wine).
It is composed of sulphur and oxygen. Fermentation
naturally produces small amount of it.
Winemakers add more to the wine. Sulphur dioxide is to
wine what aspirin is to human beings: the miraculous
remedy which cures all sort of diseases and avoids
others.
Sulphur dioxide is a bactericide which prevents wine
from changing into vinegar. It inhibates the action of
yeasts; it is why sweet wines do not go on fermenting
after bottling.
On top of that it is an antioxidizer. It allows wine to
keep all its freshness and avoids its alteration by its
enemy: the oxygen.
Vineyards
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Sylvaner,
light, fresh and fruity. |
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Pinot Blanc,
well-balanced, supple and racy. |
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Riesling,
triumph of the Alsace vineyars, delicate fruitiness
and fine bouquet. |
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Muscat d'Alsace,
dry, an inimitable fresh grape taste. |
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Tokay Pinot Gris,
opulent and robust, at its best with the finest
cuisine. |
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Gewurztraminer,
robust, full-bodied, marvalous flavour and bouquet. |
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Pinot Noir,
dry red or rosé wine, its typical fruitiness calls
to mind cherry. |
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The 3 Appellations d'Origine Contrôlées
AOC
Alsace :
Alsace wines usually bear the name of the grape variety
from which they are made (Sylvaner, Pinot Blanc,
Riesling, aso.)
AOC
Alsace Grand Cru :
they are obliged to show the name of the grape variety,
and also the name of the vineyard where they were grown.
AOC
Crémant d'Alsace :
a sparkling wine produced by the
Champagne method, using mainly the Pinot varieties. |
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Alsace
wines should be served chilled, but not too cold (6 to
10°C) in longstemmed glasses. Crémant d'Alsace is served
between 5 and 7°C in flute or tulipe glasses.
Alsace wines are normally enjoyed when they are youngs,
that mean from 1 to 5 years after their harvest.
However, "Grands Crus", "Vendanges tardives" and "Sélections
de grains nobles" will benefit from longer
bottle-ageing. |
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Winegrowing villages along the Route du Vin
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At
first sight, the Route du Vin seems just like a
postcard : the serried ranks of an army of vines
advancing up towards the forests of the Vosges; the
ruins of proud castles of the Middle Ages; villages
surrounded by venerable ramparts which today serve
only to preserve the joyful harmony inside : flower-deced
streets, hospitable inns, joyful wine cellars,
baroque wrought-iron signs, as well as historic
houses, Roman churches and fountains generously
bequeathed by the Renaissance.
For
all such unforgettable reasons, the Route du Vin
merits your visit. However, only a really
inquisitive visitor venturing off the beaten tracks
unearth all its secrets.
Between
one gateway at Thann and the other at
Marlenheim, take the time to discover the Route
du Vin's true nature : meet the winegrowers, taste
their wines, lose yourself in Medieval cities then,
far from the crowds, walk the vineyard trails to
high up in the vines to admire a panoramic view
which, the time for a pause, belongs only to you.
Finally,
allow yourself to be astonished, wherever you stop,
by the culinary genius which, with the collusion of
its wines, has made Alsace one of the most
gastronomic regions of France.
Each
kilometre of the 170 which make up the Route du Vin
invites you to cross an imaginary frontier into a
wonderful land where life is considered to be a form
of art. |
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ALSACE
WINES and CREMANT
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GEWURZTRAMINER " Vendanges Tardives" Late harvest
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SYLVANER
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PINOT
BLANC
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RIESLING
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RIESLING "Cuvée
Passion" Passion Vintage
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MUSCAT
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TOKAY
PINOT GRIS
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TOKAY
PINOT GRIS "Cuvée Passion" Passion Vintage
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GEWURZTRAMINER
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GEWURZTRAMINER "Cuvée Passion" Passion Vintage
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PINOT NOIR
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ROUGE
D'ALSACE Alsace Red Wine
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CREMANT
D'ALSACE
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TOKAY
PINOT GRIS Grand Cru " Sonnenglanz "
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