Alsace + Webinar Flashcards
When was the Thirty Year’s war? Who were the opposing parties?
1618-1648
The French and the Spanish (Catholic) Habsburg house
At the end of the Thirty Year’s war, who had ownership over Alsace?
The French
When did Germany regain ownership over Alsace after the Thirty Years war?
1871
But the French regained it after the abdication of Germany’s Kaiser Wilhelm rough the end of WWI.
Nazi Germany had a short occupation in the early 1940’s, but since, Alsace has remained French.
When does Alsace wine growing date to?
The first millennium. There were 160 Alsation villages growing grapevines by the year 1000, a trend that peaked in the 16th century.
What was the impact of the thirty year’s war on the region?
The thirty years’ war (1618-1648) demolished wine growing in the region and the political instability of the following 300 years repressed the resurgence of wine
Many of Alsace’s current vineyards date to which year and after?
1945 and after. After the French regained Alsace and WWII ended.
When did Alsace achieve AOC status?
1962
The last major French winemaking region to do so.
Alsace is broken up into two départements, the Haut-Rhin and the Bas-Rhin. Generally speaking, where do the premier wine originate from?
The Haut Rhin. Which ironically is the southern part of Alsace and the Bas-Rhin is in the Northern part of Alsace.
The Haut-Rhin contais of two-thirds of Alsaces grand cru vineyards
Which mountain range separates Alsace from the rest of France?
The Vosge mountains.
Which also provide a rain shadow effect. As a result of this rainshadow, Alsace is the one of France’s driest and sunniest climates.
Where are the vineyards of Alsace located.
The vineyards of Alsace exist in a thin strand along the lower slopes and foothills of the Vosges.
The exact aspect and location of each vineyard is of importance in this semi-continental climate.
The better vineyards enjoy souther, southeastern or warm eastern exposures to maximize sunlight
What is grés de Vosges?
Local pink sandstone
What are Alsace’s soil types? Are they varied? Homogenous?
Alsace’s soul types are incredibly varied: granite, limestone, schist, clay, gravel, loess, and local pink sandstone (gres de Vosges).
Although there’s a lot of variance, In the steeper mountain slopes there is a lot schist, volcanic sediment and granite.
The lower slopes sit on a limestone base
The lain at the foot of the mountains consists of richer alluvial clay and gravel soils
Are white or red grapes paramount in Alsace?
White.
90% of AOP wine is white
This represent about 20% of Frances total AOP still wine production
What are the 4 noble grapes of Alsace?
Riesling Pinot Gris Muscat -muscat blanc a petit grains -muscat rose a petits grains -Muscat Ottonel Gewurztraminer
In the Alsace AOP, which wines can be bottles varietally?
The noble grapes (Riesling, Pinot Gris, Muscat and Gewurztraminer and:
- Pinot Noir
- Sylvaner
- Pinot Blanc
- Chasselas
In Alsace, what is a common blending partner for Auxerrois?
Pinot Blanc
What is a synonym for Klevner
Pinot Blanc
Which is the most planted grape in Alsace?
Riesling
Which is the last noble grape to ripen in Alsace?
Riesling
How do Alsatian rieslings compare to their German cousins?
Generally, they are dry, more powerful and higher in alcohol than their German cousins.
They are among the longest-lived dry whites in the world, due to a pronounced acidity and mineralogy.
Are Alsatian Rieslings dry or sweet?
Sweetness was creeping up in Alsatian rieslings, however from 2008 forward the Alsatian AOP law mandates that standard Riesling wines be dry in style.
What’s a synonym for Tokay d’Alsace?
Pinot Gris also called Tokay Pinot Gris
Pinot Gris achieves its fullest, richest expression with spicy-smoky qualities and noticeable-though hardly high-acidity.
Which are the two highly aromatic grapes of the noble 4?
Muscat and Gewurztraminer
Muscat show fragrant floral and grapes notes
Gewurztraminer tends towards perfumed, sweet spices and tropical fruit.
Both are lower in acidity, but Gewurztraminer is higher in alcohol and more likely to be off-dry.
Is new oak common with the noble grapes of Alsace?
Not common. Though producers do use large neutral casks for fermentation and aging.
Gewurztraminer is a pink-berried clone of which grape?
Traminer
Gewurztraminer steadily replaced it in Alsace’s vineyards throughout the latter half of the 19th century.
Another pink variant of Trainer (known as Savagnin in the Jura) retains a few plantings around the commune of Heiligenstein in the Bas-Rhin. Locally, the grape is known as Klevener
