Alsace General/History/Producers Flashcards
What is the smallest wine region in France?
Alsace
Alsace ownership history
—Middles Ages Alsace was a province of the Germanic Holy Roman Empire.
—France developed into a centralized national state in the 15th and 16th centuries, direct conflict with the Spanish Hapsburg house, a branch of Europe’s most powerful dynasty.
—French-Hapsburg rivalry catapulted the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) in Europe from a localized German religious dispute into a general European war for political dominance.
—1639, French armies seized a majority of the region of Alsace to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Spanish Hapsburgs.
—The Treaty of Westphalia concluded the war in 1648 and cemented France’s ownership of Alsace
—Germany claimed the territory with Lorraine at the conclusion of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871.
—Alsace-Lorraine enjoyed an extremely brief period of total independence (2 weeks) at the end of World War I, but French troops quickly moved on Alsace-Lorraine and its capitol, Strasbourg.
—Despite a short occupation by Nazi Germany in the early 1940s, Alsace remains French.
How far does winegrowing date back to in Alsace? What war demolished said winegrowing?
From year 1000, to the 16th century 160 Alsatian villages were growing the vine.
The brutal Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) demolished winegrowing in the region and the political instability of the following 300 years repressed the resurgence of the vine.
When did Alsatian wine diverge from German sweet wines to dry powerful wines known today?
1945, after WWII when France took over Alsace. Alsace producers began to ferment to dryness for a more powerful and food friendly wine.
When did Alsace achieve AOC status?
1962
What are the two departments of Alsace? What are the differences between the two?
—Bas-Rhin (North): less sheltered from the Vosges and generally producing lighter wines than the more prestigious, southern Haut-Rhin
—Haut-Rhin (South): generally the premier wines and over 2/3 of Alsace’s grand cru vineyards.
What geological feature separates Alsace from the remainder of France in the west?
What geological feature separates Alsace from Germany in the east?
—Vosges Mountains; provides a “rain shadow” effect allowing it to be one of the driest regions in all of France.
—Rhine river in the east; both the Vosges and Rhine run parallel with each other along the region of Alsace.
What is the driest city in all of France?
Colmar, capital of the Haut-Rhin department.
*only Perpignan on the Spanish border is drier.
What is the climate of Alsace?
Semi-continental, with some of the sunniest and driest weather in all of France. Winters can be very cold, spring is generally mild. Summer is warm with possible heavy hail and thunderstorms in summer and autumn. Younger vines planted in dry, sandy soils can suffer, whereas vineyards on water-retentive clay soils have an advantage.
Alsace vines typically ripen with greater regularity than those in the Loire and northern Burgundy due to the sheer number of sunlight hours in summertime.
What soil types are found in Alsace? How do they differ between steeper mountain slopes/lower slopes/plains?
A geologic mosaic; granite, limestone, schist, clay, gravel, chalk, loess, and the local pink sandstone—grés de Vosges—can be found throughout the region.
- -Steeper mountain slopes are generally composed of schist, granite and volcanic sediment.
- -Lower slopes sit on a limestone and chalk
- -On the plain at the base of the mountains consists of richer alluvial clay and gravel soils.
General rules for critical soil type/grape variety consideration:
- -Heavier clay and marl soils give a wine with broader flavors, more body and wine
- -Lighter limestone or sandy soil gives more elegance and finesse.
- -Flint, schist, shale, and slate soils tend to give wines with a characteristic oily, minerally aroma reminiscent of petrol and sometimes described as ‘gunflint’, especially those made from the Riesling grape.
What is Grès de vosges?
Important subsoil made of hard, pink compact sandstone composed mainly of quartz and feldspar.
-it’s pinkish/red color is due to decomposing iron (iron oxide, as also seen in red soils such as terra rosa)
**it was also used extensively in the construction of churches and cathedrals, and is much in evidence in Strasbourg. Strasbourg Cathedral, widely considered to be among the finest examples of late Gothic architecture is partially made of Grès de vosges.
What is the nearest German wine region to Alsace?
Baden across the Rhine to the east runs directly along with the region of Alsace.
(Pfalz is north, but not as close)
What Alsatian biodynamic producer is run by an MW?
Zind-Humbrect. Olivier Humbrecht, MW, has managed the domaine since 1989 and helped his family build a new winery and cellar in 1992.
- known as a staunch advocate for biodynamic farming and non-interventionist winemaking practices.
- *“hands off” winemaking with very slow fermentations (sometimes lasting several months) from indigenous yeasts. Malolactic fermentation is not stopped if it occurs. Wines age at least six months on their lees in old oak barrels. Wines are bottled one to two years after harvest.
What Alsatian producer used “indice” “AN-dees”on their labels and what does it mean?
Zind-Humbrecht, as an aid to their customers, since 2001 puts an “indice” number on the labels of all their wines. 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 sweetness, in principle a Vendange Tardive (late harvested wine), but without sufficient botrytis (noble rot) character for Zind-Humbrecht to use that designation.
**Domaine Josmeyer does this as well.
What is Zind-Humbrect’s most notable acquisition?
Grand Cru Rangen de Thann “WRONG-gun de TON”: acquired in 1977, including the steep, south-facing 5.5-ha Clos Saint Urbain “YOUR-ah-BIN” on sedimentary volcanic soil; planted to 2.7 ha Pinot Gris, 2.3 ha Riesling, 0.5 ha Gewurztraminer
