Alsace Flashcards
When did Alsace enter its modern era of winemaking as we know it today. What shifted, stylistically?
1945, they started fermenting to dryness.
In what year did Alsace achieve AOC staus?
1962
Alsace is split into what 2 departments?
Haut Rhin and Bas Rhin
Describe the climate of Alsace in a couple sentences.
Its dry and sunny, Colmar in fact, is the driest city in all France. The Vosges Mountains provide a rainshadow effect.
What are the 3 soil types/groups that you see in Alsace, dependent on elevation of the vineyards?
On the flat lower areas, alluvial clay and gravel
On the lower slopes you’ll find limestone and calcareous marl
On the upper slopes you’ll find a mix of schist, granite, and volcanic
What percent of Alsatian production is white?
How much of France’s total white wine production does this represent?
90%
20%
What are the 4 noble grapes of Alsace?
Riesling, Muscat, Pinot Gris, and Gewurztraminer
Name that grape
a) klevner
b) klevener
c) gutedel
a) pinot blanc
b) savagnin
c) chasselas
What grapes may be bottled varietally other than the noble grapes under Alsace AOC?
What % must the wine be if so?
Auxerrois/Pinot Blanc, Muscat Ottonel, Chasselas, Sylvaner, Pinot Noir
100%
In the Bas Rhin, 5 communes may also bottle which grape varietally?
Name the 5 communes
Savagnin/Klevener
Heiligenstein, Bourgheim, Gertwiller, Goxwiller, Obernai
a) What does Edelzwicker mean?
b) What does Gentil mean?
a) noble mixture, although a blend isn’t required, generally an inexpensive wine.
b) also a mixture, but 50% noble grapes are required and generally is a higher quality wine.
What producer champions blending in expressing terroir over varietal in Alsace?
Marcel Deiss
How many Grand Cru are there in Alsace?
Which was first, and in what year?
51
Schlossberg in 1975
Which 2 Grand Cru allow for blending?
Whats the blend for each?
Altenberg de Bergheim: Riesling (50-70), Gewurz and Pinot Gris (10-25), others
Kaefferkopf: Gewurztraminer (60-80), Riesling (10-40), Pinot Gris and Muscat
In what year did Alsace recognize each Grand Cru as its own AOC, switching from the ‘Chablis’ model to the ‘Burgundian’?
2011
Which Alsatian Grand Cru is the only one that allows a non noble grape? Name that grape.
Zotzenberg, Sylvaner
What is the largest Alsatian Grand Cru?
The smallest?
Schlossberg 80ha
Kanzlerberg 3ha
Stylistically, whats the difference between a Vendanges Tardive (VT) and Selection de Grains Nobles (SGN)?
VT wines are more about varietal characteristic and vary in sweetness whereas SGN wines are dessert wines, featuring botrytis flavors
What is the minimum must weight for a VT Riesling or Muscat?
244
What is the minimum must weight for VT Pinot Gris or Gewurztraminer?
270
What is the minimum must weight for SGN Riesling or Muscat?
276
What is the minimum must weight for SGN Pinot Gris or Gewurztraminer?
306
What is the preferred vine training method in Alsace?
Both single and double guyot are used, double is preffered.
What grapes are permitted for Alsace AOC red wines?
Pinot Noir
What % of Alsatian production does the Cremant category account for?
25%
Name the nearby region where I’d find the Cotes de Toul AOC.
What styles of wine are made there?
Lorraine
light reds from pinot, white wines from auxerrois and aubin, vin gris from gamay and pinot
In Alsace, what grape produces the most wine by volume?
And which grape is the most planted?
Pinot Blanc/Auxerrois
Riesling
A Cremant d’Alsace rose must be what % Pinot Noir?
Is blending permitted?
100%
No, saignee method
What grapes are approved for Cremant d’Alsace AOC?
Pinot Noir/Gris/Blanc, Auxerrois, Riesling, Chardonnay
What methods are allowed for Cremant d’Alsace production?
Minimum time on the lees?
Traditional method only
9 months minimum
Who produces Clos Sainte Hune? From which Grand Cru does it hail? Grape?
Trimbach, Rosacker, Riesling
Trimbach has long eschewed the Grand Cru names, arguing they were way to big. However, in the last decade, they relented, naming 3 Grand Crus on their labels, name them by inaugural vintage.
2009
2014
2016
‘09 Geisberg
‘14 Schlossberg
‘16 Mandelberg
Who produces ‘Schoelhammer’?
Which Grand Cru is it from? Grape?
Hugel, Schoenenbourg, Riesling
Who produces Clos Saint Urbain?
From what Grand Cru is it? Grape?
Zind Humbrecht
Rangen de Thann, Pinot Gris
Who produces Clos Saint Landelin?
What Grand Cru is it in?
What style wine is most famous from here?
Rene Mure
Vorbourg
SGN wines, but they also make expensive pinot noir under AOC Alsace
Who makes Cuvee Sainte Catherine?
From which Grand Cru?
Weinbach
Schlossberg
What is Quintessence, and who makes it?
SGN Gewurztraminer, Weinbach
What Alsace Grand Cru is the only one to allow a red grape in its blends??
Name, arguably, the most notable producer of this Grand Cru.
Altenberg de Bergheim
Marcel Deiss
Who produces Cuvee Frederic Emile, and of what 2 Grand Cru is it a blend of?
Trimbach
Geisberg and Osterberg
Valentin Zusslin’s priciest Riesling comes from this Grand Cru.
Pfingstberg
What is Gres des Vosges?
Is there anything else from Alsace going by the same name?
A pink sandstone found in Alsace.
A type of raw cow’s milk cheese (think Meunster) served at the end of an Alsatian meal.
If named by variety, Alsace wines must be what % of that grape?
100%
Pinot gris used to be known by what name in Alsace, before another country complained about the use of the name.
Tokay d’Alsace
Which of the noble grapes of Alsace ripens last?
Riesling
Les Sainte Claires is made by which producer and from what grape?
Albert Mann, pinot noir
Who makes ‘Jubilee’ and what grapes can it be?
Hugel
Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer, or Pinot Noir
