Region Alsace

The picturesque wine region of Alsace is nestled in a 100km long valley framed by the Vosges Mountains to the west and the Rhine River that runs along the German border to the east. It is famous for its highly aromatic white wines made from the noble varieties; Riesling, Muscat, Pinot Gris and Gewürztraminer. Despite its northern latitude, this is a warm and dry region with extended autumn ripening, capable of producing wines that are rich, ripe and varietally expressive with abundant exotic fruit character. A range of styles exists encompassing bone dry Riesling, through to late harvest semi-sweet ‘Vendange Tardive’ (VT) examples and unctuous botrytized wines ‘Sélection de Grains Nobles’ (SGN). The region comprises 15,000 ha with the best vineyards on elevated sites bordering the mountain range and anchored on volcanic or limestone soils. Most wines produced in Alsace have the Alsace AOC classification and (unusually for France) are varietally labelled. The best 51 named vineyards are designated Alsace Grand Cru AOC.