Alsace Lorraine Flashcards
Which regions make up the ‘Grand Est’ of France?
Alsace, Lorraine, Champagne
Alsace produces roughly what percent of AOC white wine in France?
20%
When was Alsace AOC officially granted?
1962 - last major French region to gain status
Colmar is the driest city in France True or False?
True!
What is the most planted grape of Alsace?
Riesling, #2 Pinot Blanc (collectively PB and auxerrois are the most planted)
What are the rules of production for Alsace Grand Cru?
Mandatory hand-harvest, flute bottle, noble grapes, 11% abv for Muscat/Riesling; 12.5% for PG/Gewurz
Min. abv for Grand Cru?
11% abv for Muscat/Riesling; 12.5% for PG/Gewurz
Min. abv for Vin d’Alsace?
10% abv for Riesling, 9.5% for Muscat, 11.5% for PG/Gewurz - EXTRA 1% if labeled by lieu dit
9% for generic blanc
min. potential abv for Alsace Riesling/Muscat
VT?
SGN?
- 5%
16. 4%
min. potential abv for Alsace PG/Gewurz
VT?
SGN?
16%
18.2%
What is Klevener d’Heiligenstein?
An AOC Alsace mention for the rose variant of savagnin or traminer - authorized for production in 5 villages -
Obernai Bourgheim Gertwiller Goxwiller Heiligenstein
What are the non-noble varieties permitted for Vin d’Alsace AOC?
Gutedel (Chasselas) Klevener (Savagnin Rose) Pinot Blanc (Klevner) Auxerrois Pinot Noir Sylvaner
Edelzwicker
Official Alsace AOC style which doesn’t need to be a blend or vintage-labelled, but is usually a blend
Gentil
unofficial label term, must contain 50% noble grapes + pinot blanc, sylvaner, or chasselas, base wines must be vinified separately
Main soils of Alsace
Granite, Schist, Volcanic, Sandstone in the Vosges,
Calcareous marls and sandstone in the collines Vosgiennes,
gravel, sand, loess in the alluvial plains
Training methods used in Alsace
Guyot, single or double
What grapes are best adapted to granite and schist?
riesling
What grapes are best adapted to sandstone and volcanic soils?
riesling, PG
What grapes are best adapted to calcareous soils?
PN, muscat
What grapes are best adapted to calcareous marl?
GW, PG
Alsace wines labelled ‘Pinot’ may contain…
pinot noir, blanc, gris, and/or auxerrois
Rank these varieties from most precocious (1) to last to ripen (5) - Muscat, Gewurtz, Riesling, PG
1 - PG
2 - Gewurtz
3 - Muscat
4 - Riesling
2/3 of Alsace vineyards are located in what part of the region?
Haut-Rhin (southern portion)
What is Schillerwein?
varietal pinot noir rose
in Switzerland it refers to red/white blended rose
in Wurttemburg blended and co-fermented red/white
What is the minimum must weight for PG and GW Vendanges Tardives?
270 g/L
Riesling and Muscat VT must weight?
244 g/L
PG and Gewurz SGN must weight?
306 g/L
Riesling and Muscat SGN must weight?
276 g/L
Alsace blanc min. must weight?
144 g/L
Min. RS for Alsace blanc - RIESLING only grape restricted
9 g/L
or 12 g/L if tartaric acid is higher than 6 g/L
(max. 6 g/L if the wine has been chaptalized)
since 2008
(Zind Humbrecht’s “indice” scale of 1-5 helps)
Which Alsace wine styles are required to be hand-harvested?
VT
SGN
Grand Cru
PG or PN with ‘lieu dit’
When can VT or SGN wines be released?
June of the 2nd year following harvest
What are the 2 AOCs of Lorraine?
Cotes de Toul AOC - blanc (auxerrois + aubin), gris (gamay + pn), rouge (pn)
Moselle AOC - blanc (auxerrois, muller thurgau, pb), rose (gamay + pn), rouge (pn)
What is Vin Gris?
Essentially a step between blanc de noirs and rose - often made from Pinot Noir or from Gamay (Cotes de Toul) - very short contact of white juice with red grape skins during pressing. Similar to saignee.
Which Alsace GC do not permit muscat as a varietal wine?
Zotzenberg (Mittelbergheim),
Altenberg (de Bergheim),
Kaefferkopf (Ammerschwihr)
What is the most recent Grand Cru?
Kaefferkopf (Ammerschwihr) 2007
Altenberg de Bergheim blends are based on what variety?
Riesling (min 50%)
Gewurz (max 25%)
PG (max 25%)
Muscat (max 10%)