Alsace Flashcards
What are some key viticulture practices in Alsace?
- It is a strong hold for organic/biodynamic;
- Most growers use the plow regularly to encourage deeper root growth;
- They use grass between vines - reduces soil erosion, competes with the vines;
- Grass also reduces humidity - i.e. less fungal disease
What geological feature does Alsace lie on?
- Alsace lies on one of the verticle uplifts of the Rhine Graben
- a graben is a grave-like trench with verticle uplifts
What factors affect the Alsace Climate?
- Alsace lies between the 47th-49th parallel north;
- Region has a Continental climate;
- large seasonal and diurnal temperature swings; cool nights, lots of sunshine
- The Vosges Mountains create a rain shadow; lowest rainfall in France
- Alsace recieves some of the lowest rainfall in France
How has Germany impacted Alsace?
Historically, labelling and bottle shape?
- Alsace reached its peak in 16th century (Renaissance)
- At the end of the 17th cen, France took back Alsace;
- Germany reclaimed after the Franco-Prussian war;
- during this time the area was planted with high-yielding, low quality vines;
- At the end of WWI the land was French again
- During WWII was German, then French after the war;
- the hybrids were ordered to be taken out;
- Alsace wines come in the flute shape;
- The wines re labelled in the Germanic style, after the variety
How many soil types are there in Alsace?
- 13 major soil types
How many Grand Cru sites are there in Alsace?
What are the 2 Grand Cru exceptions?
- There are 51 Grand Cru sites in Alsace;
Alsace GC Altenberg de Bergheim
- can be a varietal or blend;
- if a blend must be a min 50% Riesling (max 70%),
- plus a min of 10% Gew and/or Pinot Gris (max 25%)
- and no more than 10% of Chasselas, Muscat Petit Grains Blanc, Pinot Blanc, Pinot N, Muscat Ottonel;
Alsace GC Kaefferkopf
- can be a G varietal or blend;
- 60-8-% Gew, 10-40% Riesling
- and no more than 30% PG, Muscat a Petit Grains Blanc, Muscat a Petits Rose, Muscat Ottonel
- (together cannot contribute more than 10%
- when bottled as a blend must contain majority Gew
What is the difference betweem Pinot Blanc and Pinot d’Alsace?
Pinot Blanc:
- Can be 100% Pinot Blanc
- or 100% Auxerrois Blanc
- or a blend
Pinot d’Alsace:
- Can contain any of the following authorised vars:
- Auxerrois Blanc
- Pinot Blanc
- Pinot Gris
- Pinot Noir (vinified white)
What grapes have a RS control in Alsace?
Riesling is the only variety to have an RS control
– this doesn’t apply to Grand Cru, lieu-dit, VT, SGN wines
Alsace: What is the difference between Klevner and Klevener?
Klevner is a synonym for Pinot Blanc
Klevener is its own variety (savagnin rose - aromatic version)
Alsace: What is the difference between the 2 Savagnin Rose varieties?
Klevener de Heiligenstein - non-aromatic version
Klevener - aromatic version
What vars are used for Grand Cru, VT and SGN production in Alsace?
- Riesling
- Pinot Gris
- Gewurztraminer
- Muscat
*Sylvaner is only allowed for 1 Grand Cru = Zotzenberg
What are the 4 secondary grapes grown in Alsace?
their syns / uses
- Chardonnay (used in cremant as part of blends)
- Chasselas
- Auxerrois Blanc
- Klevener de Heiligenstein (non-aromatic var of Savagnin Rose)
What are the 7 primary grapes in Alsace?
How many are white vs red?
What are their syns if any?
- Riesling
- Pinot Blanc (Pinot vrai or Klevner)
- Gewurztraminer
- Pinot Gris
- Sylvaner
- Muscat a Petits Grains Blanc / Muscat Ottonel
- Pinot Noir
6 whites vs 1 red
What types of wine can be bottled under the Alsace AOC?
- The Alsace AOC can be white, red, rose, dry, sweet, carietal or a blend.
- Grapes for the Alsace AOC can hail from any vineyard in Alsace
Alsace: What is the difference between VT and SGN wines?
- Vendages Tardives
- late harvest wine made from the noble vars
- Grapes are hand picked late into the season
- Noble rot is NOT a manditory requirement - SGN
- late harvest wine made from noble vars
- Must have Noble Rot
- grapes are picked berry by berry; several passes through vines may be needed
Alsace:
What are Gentil and Edezwicker wines?
What is the difference between Gentil & Edelzwicker wines?
They are blends
Gentil:
- must contain a min. of 50% of noble grapes
- Riesling, Gew, Muscat, Pinot Gris
- Each var is vinified seperately, the finished product must undergo a tasting panel and the vintage must appear on the label
Edelswicker:
- blend of any of the white grapes approved for the Alsace AOC
- may be vinified together or seperate
- vintage declaration is optional
Neither are independant AOCs; categories within the Alsace AOC
What are the 2 sub-categories of Alsace AOC and what do they signify?
- Alsace Communal AOC
- designed to recognise wines with heightened character
- quality standards are higher than Alsace AOC
- the producers can add their name of commune to the label - Alsace Lieu-dit AOC
- Lieu-dit is a name given to a plot of land/vy becuase of its notable and significant expression of terroir.
- more stringent quality control is needed compared to communal appellations.
Where are vys planted in Alsace?
- most of the vys planted on slopes of Vosges foothils
- vy mainly planted facing S or SE
- to capture optimal sunlight and warmth
- G’s ripen slowly with more complex aromats
What are the seasons in Alsace?
Spring:
- mild, often frosts
Summer:
- warm, dry, sunny
- sporatic thuderstorms and hail
- drought can be a problem some years;
- vy on slope trained close to the ground compared to the plains, to max heat and reflected sunlight
Autumn:
- humidity; noble rot
- thunderstorms and hail
Winter:
- cold: true dormancy
- important for vines such as Ries - will degenerate if does not have true dorm in winter
What are characteristics of Riesling in Alsace?
- indegenous to the Rhine Valley
- aromatic;
- ripens to high sugar and high acidity
- fruity, floral aromas; peach, apricot, pineapple, citrus, honeysuckle, iris, linden blossom, jasmine
- with age picks up petrol, pine nut
What are characteristics of Pinot Blanc in Alsace?
- native to France;
- genetic mutation of Pinot Gris
- 2nd most widely panted grape in Alsace;
- mainly used for Cremant
- fairly neutral white, clean, mineral, subtle notes of apple and almond
What are characteristics of Gewurztraminer in Alsace?
- Gewurz means ‘spice’
- aromatic version of Savagnin Rose - the pink-skinned mutation of Savagnin Blanc (non-aromatic version of Savagnin Rose is Klevener)
- slightly pigmented,
- aromatic
- ripens with high sugar and extract levels
- low acidity
- aromas of nutmeg, ginger, cardamom, allspice, sandalwood, mace, rose and lychee nut
What are the characteristics of Pinot Gris in Alsace?
- native to France
- genetic mutation of Pinot Noir
- ripens with high extract levels
- low acidity
- flavours of apple, pear, almond, hazelnut, citrus, mineral
- traditionally referred to as Tokay
- had to change when Hungary’s Tokay area took issue: Furmint
What are the characteristics of Pinot Noir in Alsace?
- may have originated in Jura
- may be a Pinot-Savagnin Blanc
- aromomatic
- good acidity
- moderate tannin
- strawberry, cherry, earth, autumn leaves, violets, mushroom
What are characteristics of Sylvaner in Alsace?
- native to Austria
- Savagnin Blanc x Osterreichish Weiss cross (Ost offspring of Gouais Blanc)
- little aroma
- high acid
- palate cleansing, fairly neutral
- on good sites can attain stunningly complex mineratlity
- Zotzenberg is only GC Sylvaner is permitted
What are characteristics of Muscat d’Alsace in Alsace?
- one of oldest vars in world
- two grown in Alsace:
- Muscat a Petit Grains (16th c): vibrant, aromatic, high-acid wines
- Muscat Ottonel (19th c): less aromatic, less acidic
- both are usually vinified into dry wines
- aromatic
- high sugar
- high extract
- good acidity
- crafts an aromatic wine
- raisin, honey, each, apricot, mango, orange blossom, musk
What is the % of production that is varietally labelled in Alsace?
80%
- if the grape is on the label, wine must be 100% varietal with the exception of…
- if a wine is labelled Pinot Blanc (Klevner) can be 100% Pinot Blanc or 100% Auxerrois Blanc or a blend of both - this is the excepption
What are field blends in Alsace?
- Jean-Michel Deiss co-plants varieties; picks, ferments together, labels after the vy in which they grow
- wines of terrior: field blends
What are Pinot blends in Alsace?
Pinot Blanc (Klevner): - 100% Pinot Blanc or - 100% Auxerrois Blanc or - a blend of both * this is the exception to the 100% varietal rule on labelling
Pinot d’‘Alsace:
- Auxerrois Blanc,
- Pinot Blanc,
- Pinot Noir (vinified white),
- Pinot Gris
- no mins/maxs
- can also be made of 100% of any of the above grapes; but usually a blend
What are the wine styles in Alsace?
Whites:
- usually stainless-steel/neutral oak ferm
- naturally cool cellars; ferm at optimum temps
- no new oak; no malo
- wines w/ ageing: ferm is long and sometimes lees
- Most PN are ‘almost red’
- Global warming resulting in riper grapes with higher sugar; little need to chaptalise;
- high sugar levels resulted in stuck ferms;
- some producers intentionally leave some RS
What are Alsace AOC laws and RS?
2008:
- Reisling given a maximum RS of 0.9%
- Does not apply to Grand Cru wines labelled with alieu-dit or VT, SGN
- no wine laws governing RS in any other varietal so fermenting to dry or not is elective
What red grape is allowed in Alsace?
Pinot Noir
What are the Alsace Grand Crus?
- 4% of production
- 51 GCs in Alsace = 49 are single varietal; 2 blends
- May be a GC if grapes are grown on a GC vy site
- like Bourg, vy’s ranked, not producer; can be many producers farming 1 site/vy
- White only: Ries, Gew, Muscat, P.Gris
- Sylvaner only in Zotzeenberg (also gew, ries, pg)
- may be sweet or dy
- special cuvee name may appear on label
-Altenberg de Bergheim and Kaefferkopf can be blends
On which bottles of Alsace wine is vintage labelling optional?
Edelzwicker
What is the effect of the Vosges Mountains on vineyards in Alsace?
The Vosges provide a rain shadow that ensure mainly sunny and dry growing conditions.
T or F
Edelwicker may be a blend of any white grapes approved for Alsace AOC wine
True
What is Cremant d’Alsace mostly made of?
Mostly Pinot Blanc,
Chardonnay can be used as well
Can wines in Alsace be designated AOC, IGP or Vin sans IG?
No
All wines in Alsace are AOC
From 2011 the number of AOCs went up from 3 to 53!
What s Gentil?
A blend in Alsace that must contain 50% noble white vars.
Can Alsacce GC Altenberg de Bergheim be blended?
Yes,
But if blended it must be 50% Riesling
Can GC wines be red or white in Alsace?
No
GCs are white only in Alsace
What is a former name for Pinot Gris in Alsace?
Tokay d’Alsace
GC Kaefferkopf, when bottled as a blend, must containa majority of which grape?
Gew
Grass may be planted between rows of vines…why?
To decrease yields
Grass competes with the vines for nutrients.
In an effort to combat phylloxera in Alsace, in the late 19th cen, vignerons were encouraged to…
… plant high yeild, low quality hybrids that could resist the pest
What are the four premitted grapes in Alsace Grance Cru?
Reisling
Pinot Gris
Muscat
Gewurztraminer
On which bottles of Alsace wine is vintage labelling optional?
Edelzwicker
What are the need to know AOCs of Alsace?
Cremant d’Alsace
Alsace AOC
Are there any IGP or Vins sans IG made in Alsace?
No
What can VTs and SGNs be categorised as in Alsace?
Alsace AOC
including communal and lieu-dit
They are not AOCs in their own right,
Can also be catgorised as Alsace GC AOC
