Alsace Flashcards
Name the appelation of Lorraine.
- Côtes de Toul AOP
- Moselle AOP
What is the style of St-Hippolyte, Rodern and Ottrot subzones ?
- Rouge wines only, made of Pinot Noir
True or False ? Edelzwicker is always dated by a vintage.
- False.
- If no grape variety is listed on the label, an Alsatian wine may be a blend. The term Edelzwicker, meaning “noble mixture,” usually indicates its own inverse: an inexpensive blended wine. Alsace AOP wines labeled Edelzwicker do not need to be vintage-dated, nor are they even legally obligated to contain more than one grape. In practice, however, they are blends and do not need to indicate any percentages or grapes on the label.
In Alsace AOP, what is a ‘Schillerwein’ ?
- Rosé / Clairet – 100% Pinot Noir
Name the allowed varietals for SGN and VT in Alsace AOP.
- Gewurztraminer
- Riesling
- Muscat
- Pinot Gris
True or False ? In Alsace AOP, a SGN or a VT is always a single variety wine, never a blend.
- True
What varietals may we find in the subzone ‘Klevener de Helligenstein’ ?
- Savagnin Rosé
What varietals may we find in Alsace subzone ‘Vallée Noble’ ?
- Gewurztraminer
- Riesling
- Pinot Gris
What varietals may we find in subzone ‘Blienschwiller’ and ‘Côtes de Barr’ ?
- Sylvaner
True or False ? Chaptalization is allowed in Alsace AOP ?
- True, but forbidden for VT and SGN
- So, Grand Cru can be chaptalized
True or False ? Because of tradition, in Alsace, a winemaker will bottle in ‘Flûte’ his Pinot Noir, but he could choose another format, like a Burgundy shape.
- False, Alsace AOP wines must be bottled in the traditional “Vin du Rhin” / “Flûte d’Alsace” bottle
What training method is allowed in Alsace AOP ?
- Single or Double Guyot
Who grow vines in ‘Clos des Capucins’ ? (outside Grand Cru status)
- Weinbach
Who grow vines in ‘Clos de la Faille’ ? (outside Grand Cru status)
- Albert Mann
Who grow vines in ‘Clos Ribeaupierre’ ? (outside Grand Cru status)
- Jean Sipp
Who grow in ‘Clos Windsbuhl’, ‘Clos Jebsal’ and ‘Clos Häuserer’ ? (outside Grand Cru status)
- Zind-Humbrecht
True or False ? Gewurztraminer is allowed in a Crémant d’Alsace AOP ?
False, encépagement : Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Auxerrois, and/or Chardonnay
What are the mains white varietals for Côtes de Toul AOP ?
- Auxerois & Aubin
Is Vosges mountain range on the West or East side of Alsace AOP ?
- West, which holds all clouds coming from the west making the region as dry as parts of Southern France (commonly called the ‘rainshadow’ effect).
Is Haut-Rhin wine region better reputed than Bas-Rhin ?
- Yes
- The Bas-Rhin (North) is less protected, due to the mountain range being lower, producing lighter wines than the more prestigious, southern Haut-Rhin.
What is the style of viticulture of Marcel Deiss ?
- Co-plantation, and he makes only blends out of the vinyards.
- Some producers advocate field blends as the best approach for serious wines. In this case, the grapes are typically vinified together and produced under a vineyard name. Marcel Deiss is one of the staunchest advocates of using this approach as a means of emphasizing Alsatian terroir.
True or False ? Hugel have no Grand Cru.
- True, because they have their own idea about terroir. The main criticism of this concept (Grand Cru) is that the boundaries are sometimes very extensive. This, combined with their long history are the reasons for wineries like Hugel not to participate in the Grand Cru regulations at all.
True or False ? Screwcaps are allowed in Alsace AOP ?
- True … well … the appellation rulebook simply made no provision for them. They probably never thought that somebody would even dare to think about using something other than cork.
Who is THE biodynamic pioneer of winemaking in Alsace ?
- Jean-Pierre Frick
We say the concept of Grand Cru in Alsace is relatively young, when was it created ?
- 1975 for the first batch (single vineyard Schlossberg)
- 1983, for second batch (24 more vineyards)
- 1985, for third batch (25 more vineyards)
- 2007, for Kaefferkopf
- AOC Established: 1945, officially designated AOC in 1962
- AOC Grand Cru Established: 1975; Region-wide designations in 1983
- AOC VT and SGN Established: 1984
What is the exception regarding Zotzenberg Grand Cru ?
- In additon to the 4 noble grapes, Sylvaner is also allowed
What are the 4 ‘noble’ grapes of Alscae, that are permitted on Grand Cru vineyards ?
- Riesling
- Gewurztraminer
- Muscat
- Pinot Gris
Two grand cru vineyards of Alsace AOP are allowed to blend different ‘noble’ grapes.
- Altenberg de Bergheim
- Kaefferkopf
What is interesting about cuvée Frederich Emile by Trimbach ?
- Since the 19th century has been a blend of Riesling grown in the Grand Cru vineyards Osterberg and Geisberg
On which Grand Cru is located the ‘Clos St.Hune’ of Trimbach ?
- Grand Cru Rosacker
Two Grand Cru of Alsace AOP recently includes Pinot Noir in the list of authorized varieties.
- Hengst
- Kirchberg de Barr
In Alsace, between 2001 and 2003, which is the best ?
- 2001 – Outstanding
Vintages ; In Alsace, between 2006 and 2009, which is the best ?
- 2009 – Outstanding
Which varietal is a natural cross between Traminer x Österreichisch Weiß ?
- Sylvaner
What is the synonym of Pinot Blanc in Alsace ?
- Klevner
What is the synonym of Gutedel in Alsace ?
- Chasselas
What is the last of Alsace AOP noble varietals to ripen fully ?
- Riesling, also the most planted.
What does ‘gentil’ refers to ?
The unofficial term gentil is a superior designation (than Edelszwicker) for blends that contain a minimum of 50% noble grapes. Any other Alsace AOP grape may compose the remainder, and the base wines must be vinified separately.
Which one is North (Bas-Rhin), which is South (Haut-Rhin) ; Altenberg de Bergbieten & Altenberg de Bergheim.
- Altenberg de Bergbieten (North)
- Altenberg de Bergheim (South)
Alsace is separated from Germany by the _______ river ?
- Rhein
Alsace AOP Vendanges Tardives wines are always sweet ?
- False
What is the smallest Grand Cru in Alsace AOP ?
- Kanzlerberg
The Treaty of Westphalia ended the Thirty Years’ War in the ___ century, cementing France’s initial ownership of Alsace.
- 17th
Which producer owns the most hectares of grand cru vineyards in Alsace ?
- Dom. Schlumberger
Who produces “Clos Saint Landelin” Pinot Noir ?
- Muré
What is the only permitted grape in Marc d’Alsace ?
- Gewurztraminer
Which varietals are allowed in Crémant d’Alsace AOP?
- Riesling
- Pinot blanc
- Pinot Gris
- Pinot Noir
- Auxerrois
- Chardonnay
True of false ? Muscat & Riesling required higher must weight than Gewürztraminer & Pinot Gris for VT and SGN.
- False
- Muscat & Riesling: VT (244g), SGN (276g)
- Gewürztraminer & Pinot Gris: VT (270g), SGN (306g)
Who produce ‘Clos Mathis’ ?
- Ostertag
Who invented the term Quintessence de grains noble ?
- Weinbach
- 1983
Which of these vintages is considered the most difficult one in Alsace ?
- 2001
- 2002
- 2003
- 2003
A wine labeled Alsace AOP Bergheim is most likely to be what varietal ?
- Gewürztraminer
Which producer is known to classify his wine as Vin de Fruit, Vin de Pierre & Vin de Temps ?
- André Ostertag
- Marcel Deiss
- Vin de Fruit : Wines that express grape typicity.
- Vin de Pierre: Wines that express terroir
- Vin de Temps: Wines that are affected by time and weather (VT and SGN)
True or False ? Recently, Alsace changed their regulations for Riesling varietal wine. By law, they must now be vinified dry.
- True
How does diversity in the soil of Alsace can relate to the presence of Edelzwicker and Gentil wines?
- Diversity of soils leads to diversity of grapes, having a wide array of grapes results in the multi-grape blends created and named to ensure a consistent product year-to-year
Which grape varieties are allowed for a Crémant d’Alsace rosé?
- Pinot noir only, by maceration or saignée
How many hours of sunshine Colmar usually have per year?
- 1800 hours of sunshine
How many mm of rains Colmar receive per year?
- around 600 mm, one of the driest region of France
What is Muschelkalk?
- a fossil limestone from Alsace
What is particular with Rangen Grand Cru in Than?
- a southern grand cru with a pure volcanic soil
- Steep hill, gewurztraminer does have a hard time to grow there
- Zind-Humbrecht Clos St-Urbain is located here, he produce a Riesling, tiny amount of Gewurztraminer (0,5 hectares) and Pinot Gris
What is the main grape variety of a Altenberg de Bergheim blend?
- 50-70% riesling
What is the main grape variety of a Kaefferkopf blend?
- 60-80% Gewürztraminer
Where is located Clos Windsbuhl from Zind-Humbrecht?
- in Hunawihr, a part on the grand cru Rosacker. It is actually close to Clos Ste-Hune
- a unique plot of Muschelkalk soil
Which producer had on his label in 2001 a sweetness level, way before the new Alsatian regulation a sweetness indication?
- Zind-Humbrecht
As an aid to their customers, since 2001 Zind-Humbrecht puts an “indice” number on the labels of all their wines (under the alcohol level). This indice goes from 1 to 5 and indicate the sweetness of the wine:
1 means completely dry, or at least a completely dry impression.
2 means almost dry; although the wine technically isn’t dry, the residual sugar isn’t too obvious, but rather adds body or roundness to the wine.
3 means off-dry, with an impression of some sweetness that can gradually decrease with cellaring.
4 means a noticeable sweetness (off-dry to semi-sweet)
5 means high sweetnss, in principle a Vendange Tardive (late harvested wine), but without sufficient botrytis (noble rot) character for Zind-Humbrecht to use that designation.
What is the soil of Clos Ste-Hune?
- Muschelkalk and Lettenkohle mother rock
- marly-limestone
Does Clos Ste-Hune always been produced in dry style?
- No, there is two vintages where they add the mention late harvest (1983 and 1989)
What is the most important grape variety on Mambourg Grand Cru?
- Gewurztraminer
- there is also some Pinot Gris, Muscat and Riesling
Who is producing a wine range name Grossi Laüe?
- Hugel & Fils
- Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer, pinot noir
Between 2019, 2020 and 2021, which vintage is considered as cooler, more “classic” for Alsace?
- spring frosts and summer rains reduced the yield. good ripeness, lower alcohol, racy & mineral wines
Which grape variety is more suitable for clay soil in Alsace?
- Gewurztraminer
