Alsace Flashcards
What years did the Thirty Years War start and finish?
1618-1648
What concluded the Thirty Years War in 1648?
The treaty of Westphalia
Germany claimed territory with Lorraine of Alsace at the conclusion of the Franco Prussian War in what year?
1871
What year marked the beginning of a divergence in French and German winemaking styles?
1945
What year did Alsace finally achieve AOC status?
1962
Alsace was the last major French winemaking region to do so.
What two departments is Alsace divided into?
Haut-Rhin
Bas-Rhin
Over two thirds of Alsace’s Grand Cru Vineyards are located in what department?
Haut-Rhin
Alsace is separated from the remainder of France by which mountains to the west?
Vosges Mountains
The mountains provide a “rain shadow” effect.
What is the capital of the Haut-Rhin department?
Colmar
True or False?
Colmar is the driest city in France
True
The better vineyards of Alsace enjoy which direction of exposure to maximize sunlight?
Southern, southeastern, or warm eastern
What is the name of the local pink sandstone in Alsace?
gres de Vosges
What are the soil types of Alsatian vineyards?
The land is a geologic mosaic; granite, limestone, schist, clay, gravel, chalk, loess,
What are the four “noble” grapes of Alsace?
Riesling, Pinot Gris, Muscat (either Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains, Muscat Rosé à Petits Grains or Muscat Ottonel), and Gewurztraminer
What are the 4 aforementioned noble grapes of Alsace AOP or Vin d’Alsace?
Pinot Blanc (Klevner), Chasselas (Gutedel), Sylvaner, and Pinot Noir
These grapes are allowed to be bottled varietally
True or False?
Alsace AOP wines must contain 100% of the printed grape?
True
What are the four grapes that white wines simply labeled “Pinot,” may contain?
Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, and Auxerrois.
True or False?
Riesling is the most planted grape and Alsace’s last noble grape to ripen.
True
What is the grape varietal formerly called Tokay d’Alsace or Tokay Pinot Gris?
Pinot Gris
Gewurztraminer is a pink-berried clone of the traditional what grape?
Traminer
Traminer is locally known as what grape around the commune of Heiligenstein in the Bas-Rhin?
Klevener
What are the 5 communes that may bottle Savagnin Rose or Klevener de Heiligenstein under the existing Alsace AOP?
Heiligenstein itself, Bourgheim, Gertwiller, Goxwiller, and Obernai.
What does the term Edelzwicker indicate?
(“noble mixture”) usually indicates its own inverse: an inexpensive blended wine.
True or False?
Alsace AOP wines labeled Edelzwicker do not need to be vintage-dated, nor are they even legally obligated to contain more than one grape.
True
What is “Gentil”?
A superior designation for blends, requiring a minimum of 50% noble grapes.
What approach is advocate Marcel Deiss known for as a means of emphasizing Alsatian terroir?
Field Blends, In this case, the grapes are typically vinified together and produced under a vineyard name.
The Alsace Grand Cru AOP was first decreed in 1975 with what single named vineyard?
Schlossberg
What year was the 51st Grand Cru Kaefferkopf added to the list of Grand Cru AOP wines?
2007
What are the two AOP’s of Lorraine?
Côtes de Toul AOP
Moselle AOP
Cuvée Frédéric Emile is a blend of which two grand cru vineyards?
Geisberg and Osterberg
Alsace produces approximately what percentage of France’s still white wines?
18%
What producer owns the most hectares of grand cru vineyards in Alsace?
Domaine Schlumberger
What is Vendanges Tardives?
A designation for late harvest wine, May show botrytis character but emphasizes varietal purity. May vary in actual sugar, and can be quite dry.
What is Sélections de Grains Nobles?
Generally picked in tries, and suppress varietal character in return for the complexities of botrytis. In practice SGN wines are always dessert-like.
What is the only red varietal permitted for Alsace AOP wines?
Pinot Noir
Which varietal is the work horse for Cremant d’Alsace AOP wines?
Pinot Blanc
Cremant d’Alsace is the only appellation in Alsace to allow which grape varietal?
Chardonnay
