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Alsace – Home of the Noble Grape

© Sunny Willmington-Wight

Alsace is one of the smaller wine growing regions in France and yet one of the most fascinating. Historically, because of it's location East of the River Rhine, France has had to fight to keep Alsace as a part of its country - Swedish forces invaded in 1633 and German forces repeatedly invaded throughout the past. The last period of German occupancy was from the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 until the end of the First World War. During this time Alsace was only producing average wines from poor vines because the Germans were displeased with the effortless fine wine production in Alsace (due to excellent environmental conditions) in comparison with the work required in German wine production. One would have expected them to take advantage of their newly acquired land, but the Germans undoubtedly viewed Alsace as quintessentially French and aimed to suppress its success. Alsace returned to the French rule in 1918 to find that their ordinary style wines were already being produced in the Midi for much cheaper and they were no longer competitive wine-makers on a national level. In 1925, in reaction to this, all hybrid and other poor vines were banned in Alsace in favor of only noble grapes.

So, now Alsace could return to focusing on fine wines - something, it seems, Alsace was made for! This is because this region benefits from near perfect viticultural conditions. Alsace sits in-between the Vosges mountains and the river Rhine - the Vosges protects the vineyards from the Western moisture and winds from the Atlantic and the Rhine provides more moderate conditions from the East. The autumn season is dry and warm and the vineyards on the lower mountain slopes can enjoy sunshine throughout the day - perfect ripening conditions.

The superior selection of grapes which are grown in this region ironically include some German varieties - namely Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Sylvaner. Other varieties are the Pinot Noir, Muscat, Chasselas and Tokay-Pinot Gris. Today, production in Alsace stands at around 120 million bottles per year and about 95% of them are white. The region is not particularly warm and so often chaptalisation is permitted (i.e. the addition of sugar to fermenting grapes) to make the wine more balanced and malolactic Fermentation is avoided (i.e. acid reduction when malic acid becomes lactic acid) to further enhance balance.

If you are a white wine fanatic or even sweet white wine, Alsace can certainly offer some of the worlds finest. Firstly, Alsace Riesling and Gewurztraminers are extremely full bodied - Riesling is often described as the King of Alsace wine with its sturdy, clear flavors and late ripening Riesling make excellent late harvest wines. Late harvest wines are high in sugar because they have been left to ripen longer and they are labeled "Vendange Tardive" (late harvest). Other late harvest wines are made from grapes are affected by the fungus Botrytis, which shrivels up the grapes intensifying the sugar - these are labeled "Sélection de Grains Noble" (Selection of Noble Grapes). Only certain grapes such as Riesling and other noble varieties are affected in a good way by Botrytis. Although these wines are sweet and high alcohol the climate also ensure good acidity for balance.