Alsace: A Place of in Between

The Hidden Treasure of Alsace

As many of you know I attended a FANTASTIC wine class put on by two of my favorite local authorities on wine here in Minneapolis – Vine Labs and France 44. I knew that Alsace had a rich history and was a gem in the French wine arena but had no idea just how rich the history was and how quite frankly spectacular the wines could be. Since you all couldn’t join me I thought I’d share a little bit of what I learned in the class (plus excessive research following) on Alsace! My hope is that you’ll learn a little and maybe pick up a bottle of Alsatian wine next time you’re shopping for a dry yet tropical wine from France!

Fun Facts about Alsace

While I learned a TON from this fantastic class I wanted to start off with my favorite fun facts I’ve learned about Alsace over the last week.

“You can taste the sunshine in Alsace wine” – our course instructor said this near the beginning of class and boy was she right. As we went through the tasting, I couldn’t NOT pick up the tropical qualities of the wines. Those tropical flavors you’d expect from a more southern oriented and sunshine filled wine region was all in my glass from none other than a northern French wine region. Truthfully, I wasn’t expecting that quality to come out in Alsace wine.

Alsace is the only region in France that makes Riesling. While maybe not that surprising given its German origins, it does highlight the history of the Alsace region and its German influence, which sets Alsace apart from other wine regions in France.

Alsatian Gentil “field blend” is a blend of several different varieties, sometimes harvested all at once regardless of grape, putting the highest weigh on the site vs. the grape. One note about Gentil blends is that it must include the noble varieties (we’ll get to that). I just love this for so many reasons!

Alsace experienced “regional schizophrenia” and has changed 5X between Germany, France, and the Roman Empire. More on this when we get to history, but I promise I will only be barely skimming the surface on the history of Alsace.

Alsace received AOC status in 1962, and established a Grand Cru system in 1975. There is so much to be said about Alsatians’ love/hate relationship with the Grand Cru system, which makes it no surprise that it took them 8 years to name 1 Grand Cru.

All Alsace wines are sold in a slender flute-like bottle called “flute d’alsace”. What’s interesting about this is that when you see a bottle of this shape while shopping, you might instantly think of a sweeter or dessert wine, but knowing this fact and knowing that many Alsatian wines are actually dry might cause you to think twice.

History of Alsace

To start, please go read a book (Wine & War is a great option, linked. below) or do some research of your own on this. There is a 0% chance I am going to do the history of Alsace justice with this overview but at the least I will share some important things to know!

Alsace sits just between the French Voges Mountains and the German Rhine putting it in a unique geographical position between France and Germany. As you very well know, Germany and France have not always gotten along, so what happens when a very spectacular wine regions lies just between two opposing countries? It becomes a chess-piece in times of war. Notably, Alsace changed between Germany, France, and the Roman Empire 5 times.

It’s been said that Alsace is German on the outside and French on the inside due to the influence from both Germany and France over centuries of back and forth. As you stroll down the streets of Alsace you can pick this up visually with French shutters on distinctly German-influenced buildings. Generation to generation of Alsatians have a different relationships with each of the countries influences and there was a time where two brothers from Alsace might have fought for opposing sides during a war.

You can also clearly see this German influence in the wines of Alsace with their notable production of Riesling (only region in France to make it) and Gewurztraminer (which technically originated from Alsace specifically but the Traminer grape has Germany origins).

While all of this back and forth had to be exhausting for Alsatians, its makes for some incredibly interesting wine history and some pretty uniquely spectacular wines.

Viticulture + Viniculture

First. Let’s do some vocabulary reminders (which I frequently need).

Viticulture is the agricultural practice of growing grape vines (i.e. the farming portion) and Viniculture is the cultivation of grapes for use in wine making. To be honest however, depending on who you talk to these can be one in the same, so we’ll proceed as such.

Alsace has the highest percentage of organic and biodynamic farming in all of France. 15% of Alsace producers practice sustainable, organic or biodynamic farming which is why it’s said that Alsatian wine is a “pure expression”. With little interference the grapes and the terrior get to do their thing uninterrupted (big thanks to a fantastic terrior). The best sites for growing are on steep, S/SE facing slops in good distance between the slopes of the Voges and the edge of the Rhine.

There are 3 main AOC’s in Alsace that help to breakdown the styles of wines you can expect from Alsace. There is

Alsace AOC (which is mostly still white wines)
Crémant d’Alsace AOC (the “champagne” of Alsace)
Alsace Grand Cru AOC (the noble varieties from select vineyards)

The Noble Varieties or “Noble Grapes of Alsace” are Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer, and Muscat. Why noble? Well, the idea is that these varieties were chosen due to their age-ability and historical value.

Terroir

You can thank the Voges Mountains that run through Alsace for its fantastic climate. The mountains are wide but not tall which creates a rain shadow that benefits the vines. Even though Alsace is the northern-most wine region in France it’s still dry and sunny all summer long. Remember that “you can taste the sunshine in Alsace wine” quote- well here is the reason why.

I’ve borrowed Wine Folly’s Wine Map of Alsace for a reference. Because I just love Wine Folly but also because the map Madeline Puckette created of the Alsace region is perfect for the explanation of what differentiates the Grand Cru wines. While there is a bit of controversy of the Grand Cru selection in Alsace (google this- it is quite interesting), generally the idea is that Grand Cru vineyards are in the “sweet spot” between the Voges Mountains and the Rhine. They aren’t too high up the mountain or too close to the water source and get the perfect amount of sunshine and moisture. When you look at the map of the region is starts to come into focus pretty well the effect of these amazing mountains on the wine making in Alsace.

Wine to Try from Alsace

The below were the wines we tasted as a part of the class. It was a fantastic selection and I’d highly recommend each one of them. My favorite was surprisingly the Gewurztraminer, and I say surprisingly because usually I am not a fan of this varietal. This is a perfect example of what is so amazing about Alsace, their Gewurztraminer can be drier yet still have all the fragrance and tropical expression of the grape, and I LOVED it!