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French Wine Scholar V7.1 > Alsace > Flashcards

Alsace Flashcards

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1
Q

What was the primary reason Alsace has so many soil types?

A

The western side of graben (Alsace) was not one clean break but rathern multiple fractures or fault bundles that subsequently developed cross faults. This faulting exposed many different soil types from different geological epochs.

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2
Q

What is Selection de Grains Nobles?

A

Late harvest wines. Noble Rot is a requirement.

Grapes are hand picked, berry by berry through multiple passes in the vineyard.

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3
Q

True or False:

Vendanges Tardives, Selection de Grains Nobles and Grand Crus bottlings in Alsace are only from the four noble grapes.

A

True

With one single Grand Crus exception of Zotzenberg.

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4
Q

What is the primary reason Alsace wines are mostly (75%) consumed domestically and especially locally?

A

The success of region’s pioneering efforts at oenotourism.

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5
Q

What are seven main or focal grape varieties in Alsace?

A
  1. Riesling
  2. Pinot Gris
  3. Gewurztraminer
  4. Muscat(s)
  5. Sylvaner
  6. Pinot Blanc
  7. Pinot Noir
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6
Q

True or False:

Many of the largest producers in Alsace are family owned and operated.

A

True

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7
Q

True or False:

Klevner and Klevener are the same grape varietiy.

A

False

Klevner (Pinot Blanc) and Klevener (Savagnin Rose) are two distinct grape varieties.

Savagnin Rose is a pink-skinned mutation of Savagnin Blanc of Jura fame and comes in aromatic (Gewurztraminer) and non-aromatic (Klevener) versions.

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8
Q

True or False;

Vendages Tardives and Selectdion de Grains Norbles are independent AOCs in Alsace.

A

False

They are wine styles within the Alsace AOC and Alsace Grand Cru AOCs.

They can be only crafted from the four “noble” grapes.

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9
Q

True or False:

Co-operatives account for approximately 10% of Alsace’s total wine offering.

A

False

40%

30% of producers account for 80% of produciton.

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10
Q

True or False:

The sale of Alsace’s sparkling production is declining.

A

False:

Alsace produced less than a million bottle of Cremant in 1977, but today produces 33 million bottles.

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11
Q

What is Edelzwicker?

A

A blend of the approved white grapes of Alsace vinified together or separately.

Vintage is optional.

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12
Q

True or False

Lieu-Dit production standards are higher than those of the communal designations.

A

True

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13
Q

What are grapes used for Pinot d’Alace?

A

A blend of Alsace AOC wines based on Pinot Blanc and may include Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir and Auxerrrois.

Even Chardonnay may be included.

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14
Q

True or False

Grand Cru designation is awarded to vineyards in Alsace rather than to producers as in Bourgogne.

A

True

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15
Q

True or False:

The majority of Grand Crus are located on sedimentary soils.

A

True

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16
Q

What other grape variety may contain if the Alsace label says Pinot Blanc/Klevner?

A

100% Aurxerrrois or a blend of Pinot Blanc and Auxerrois along with 100% Pinot Blanc.

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17
Q

True or False

As of 2008, the maximum of Residual Sugar level for Riesling has been set in Alsace.

A

True

It has been set as the maximum R.S. level of 0.9% (9g/l).

This does not apply to Grand Crus nor Lieu-Dit or dessert wines (VT or SGN),

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18
Q

What grape variety makes up Blanc de Noirs and Rose of Cremant d’Alsace?

A

100% Pinot Noir

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19
Q

What is traditional wine storage vessels in Alsace?

A

Large wooden Foundres.

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20
Q

True or False

Malolactic conversion is encouraged for Vendanges Tardives wine.

A

False

The wine needs the acid to balance out its high sugar level.

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21
Q

What is the link between Savagnin Blanc and Klevener de Heiligenstein / Gewurztraminer?

A

Mutations of Savagnin Blanc.

Klevener de Heiligenstein or Savagnin Rose is non aromatic mutation of Savagnin Blanc while Gewurztraminer is aromatic version of Savagnin Blanc.

Savagnin Blanc is the grape of Jura’s Vin de Jaune.

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22
Q

What are two grapes most often used for VT and SGN and the reason?

A
  1. Gewurztraminer
  2. Pinot Gris
  • Its ripening curves coincides with autumn mists (ideal for noble rot)
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23
Q

What four grape varieties are considered to be “ancillary” grapes of Alsace?

A
  1. Anxerrois
  2. Chardonnay
  3. Chasselas
  4. Savagnin Rose
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24
Q

True or False:

The very first vigneron to convert to biodynamics in France was Alsatian.

A

True:

Eugene Meyer.

Alsace together with Loire, Languedoc-Roussillon and Rhone are the forefront of the green practices in France.

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25
Q

True or False:

50% of Alsace’s total production is exported.

A

False:

Only 25%

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26
Q

True or False

Alsace Grand Cru AOC wines can only be Dry White or Sweet White.

A

True

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27
Q

True or False

Most Cremants in Alsace are blended products.

A

True

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28
Q

True or False:

Auxerrois, downplayed grape variety, plays a pirmary role in Alsace’s very popular Cremant.

A

True

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29
Q

If Alsace label shows Pinot d’Alsace, what four grape varieties the wines may contain?

A
  1. 100% Auxerrois
  2. 100% Pinot Blanc
  3. 100% Pinot Gris]
  4. 100% Pinot Noir (vinified as white wine)
  5. Or blend of any or all
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30
Q

What is “Gentil” wine?

A

A blend comprising a minimum 50% of the “noble” grapevarities; each variety must be vinified separately.

Requires tasting panel approval.

Vintage must appear.

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31
Q

Name four features of Alasace wines that show German influence.

A
  1. Varietally labeled
  2. Slender flute bottles
  3. Riesling
  4. Dessert wine
32
Q

How many AOCs in Alsace?

A

53 AOCs

Regional AOC (with Lieu-Dit and Communal Designations within it)

Cremant d’Alsace AOC

51 Grand Crus

33
Q

True or False:

Alsace’s wine production is almost 90% white.

A

True

34
Q

Has Alsace been gone to Germany or France after the Franco Prussian War?

Which country France or Germany, Alsace returned to after World War I?

A
  • Germany
  • France
35
Q

True or False

The wines of Alsace have historically been fermented to dryness.

A

True

36
Q

What percentage do Blends comprise of Alsace’s total producdtion?

A

20% (Gentil and Edelzwicker have set requirements)

80% of production is put into varietal bottlings both dry and sweet.

37
Q

What is the main difference between Alsace white wines and German wines?

A

Traditionally devoid of residual sugar

38
Q

Name four “noble” grapes of Alsace.

A
  1. Riesling
  2. Gewurztraminer
  3. Pinot Gris
  4. Muscat
39
Q

What are two synonyms of Pinot Blanc in Alsace?

What wine style is it mostly used for?

A
  1. Pinot Vrai
  2. Klevner
  • Mostly used in Cremant produciton
40
Q

True or False

Vendanges Tardives wines should not be affected by Noble Rot.

A

False

They may be affected by Noble Rot but Noble Rot is not mandatory requirement.

41
Q

What did producers in Alsace successfully lobby to identify and delimit its terroirs?

A

For Communal and Lieu-Dit designation within the regional Alsace AOC.

42
Q

True or False:

Alsace was a part of western principality of Germany when it reached the peak of prosperity and renown in the middle of Renaissance (16th Century).

A

True:

However the Thirty Years War ravaged the population and was handed over to France after the war.

43
Q

Which grape variety occupies more than twice as much vineyard land as Pinot Blanc and is counted as Pinot Blanc in official figures?

A

Auxerrois

44
Q

What is the soil type common to the majority of Alsace’s Grands Crus?

A

On Sedimentary soils with a particularly large number planted on combinations of marl and limestone or combinations of marl, limestone and sandstone.

45
Q

What is the primary geological reason Alsace wines manage to achieve ripeness and flavour development?

A

Vosges Mountains protect Atlantic influences to block rain laden clouds pushed by the west winds, Alsace is lying effectively in the rain shadow of the Vosges.

46
Q

What is Vendanges Tardives?

A

Late harvest wines that ccontain considerable residual sugar. Grapes are picked by hand late season when the berries are overripe.

47
Q

Sylvaner is permitted for one Grand Cru only.

Name the Grand Cru.

A

Zotzenberg

(it can also be crafted from Gewurztraminer, Rielsing or Pinot Gris)

48
Q

Name the two uplifts of the Rhine Graben

A
  1. Vosges Mountain Range
  2. Black Forest
49
Q

What is the climate of Alsace?

A

Continental with significant seasonal and diurnal temperature swings.

50
Q

Turkeheim, Beblenheim and Ribeauville are well celebrated.

What are they?

A

Co-operatives.

Ribeauville established in 1895 would have the oldest co-operatives in France if not. for the fact that Alsace was a part of Germany at the time.

51
Q

Along with Riesling, what three other grape varieties that Alsace is unique among the two wine producing nations?

A
  1. Gewurztraminer
  2. Muscat
  3. Pinot Gris
52
Q

What is the main difference of Belemnite and Micraster chalks as they are found in Champgne area?

A

Belemnite soil types are found uppert to mid slopes white Micraster soils are found in flatter plains where the sun exposure is not optimal.

53
Q

What topography does Alsace area lie?

A

Rhine Graben - a section of the rift system that zigsags across Europe from the Mediterranea to the North Sea.

54
Q

Which grape variety is forbidden in Cremant d’Alsace?

A

Gewurztraminer

55
Q

True or False:

The rich deep and fertile soils at the base of the foothills largely grow grapes that are destined for cremant produciton.

A

True

56
Q

What grape variety is the non aromatic pink skinned garpe of Gewurztraminer?

A

Savagnin Rose (Klevener of Heiligenstein)

57
Q

What grape variety is given a spotlight only in Alsace wine region in France and is often used to craft VT and SGN?

A

Gewurztraminer

58
Q

What white grape variety is only authorized for Cremant and no other AOC level wines in Alsace and can only be sold as Vin de France otherwise?

A

Chardonnay

59
Q

Which grape variety has regulations stipulating a residual sugar maximum?

A

As of 2008 Riesling was given a maximum R.S. sugar level of 0.9%( 9g/l), but this ruling does not apply to Grand Cru wines or wines labeled with a lieu-dit (or VT pr SGN).

60
Q

What have the two types of Muscat grape family cultivated as of the 15th Century and 19th Century respectively in Alsace?

A
  1. Musact a Petit Grains Blanc
  2. Muscat Ottonel
61
Q

True or False:

Yields in Alsace continue to remain some of the lowest in France.

A

False

Yields are some of the highest.

62
Q

True or False:

The principal training method in Alsace is Guyot, single or double.

A

True

63
Q

True or False;

Less than one percent of Alsace’s vineyards are farmed according to organic or biodynamic pracrices.

A

False

16%

There are over 300 orgianic vignerons.

64
Q

Name sparkling wines produced outside Chamgpane (4).

A
  1. Cremant - all have the same atomosphers of pressure as champgne
  2. Mousseux: Value category, less demanding production standards than Cremant. No aging requirement.
  3. Petillant: Fizzy. Less atm of pressure: 1-2.5 atm
  4. Petillant Natural (Pet-Nat/Methode Ancestral): Sparkling wines produced according to the ancestral method
65
Q

True or False

Edelzwicker and Gentil are independent AOCs in Alsace,

A

False

Both are categories within the Alsace AOC

66
Q

Out of 51 Alsace Grand Crus, all craft single varietal wines except the two.

Name the two.

A
  1. Altenberg de Bergheim
  2. ‘Kaefferkopf
67
Q

True or False

Wines labled with Lieu-Dit can be white, red or rose.

A

False

It cannot be Rose, only white or red.

68
Q

Define “Lieu-Dit”

A

A Lieu-Dit is a parcel of land, contained within a single commune, whose traditional (and often centuries-old) name recalls a topographical or historic peculirarity.

A Lieu-Dit is a techinical cadastral unit used by geographers and is legally registered.

69
Q

What small wine region west of Alsace and east of Champagne boasts two AOCs and one IGP?

A

Lorraine

  • Moselle AOC
  • Cotes de Toul AOC (strong Rose/Gris tradition)
  • Cotes de Meuse IGP
70
Q

How many Communal Designation (Denominations Geographique Complementaires (DGC) in Alsace AOC?

A

13

DGCs echo the “villlage level” wine cateory in Bourgogne.

71
Q

How many Grand Crus are in Alsace?

A

51 Grand Crus

72
Q

What is the 17th century wooden instrument used to eliminate carbon dioxide from sparkling wine?

A

Wooden whisks (Mosseers)

73
Q

What is a serious issue Alsace producers are grappling with today, which goes against the historical nature of its wines?

A

Accidental or intentional residual sugar in wines

74
Q

True or False

In Alsace, “Prestige”, “Reserve” or “Reserve Personelle” are registered terms.

A

False

Many are unique to each producer and unique within the spercific “families” of wines they produce.

75
Q

Which only one Grand Cru vineyard Sylvaner is permttted?

A

Zotzenberg

76
Q

How many different major soil types are found in Alace?

A

13

77
Q

Which grape variety is considerd to be the pinnacle of prestige among Alsae’s wine offerings?

A

Riesling

French Wine Scholar V7.1 (15 decks)

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