The Corkscrew | All about Alsace wines - grapes, oak, names and what makes them special
The only French region allowed to include grape varietals on its labels, Alsace is known for its fruity, perfumed white wines made from grapes including gewurztraminer, riesling and pinot gris, writes Nellie Ming Lee
Alsace has long served as a buffer between France and Germany, having changed hands between the two countries many times. After the second world war, Alsace entered its renaissance, becoming a distinctive wine region and, in 1962, gaining appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) status. It is the smallest of all AOC regions and is separated from the rest of France by the Vosges Mountains. The area has a dry climate and is the only region in the country that is permitted to label wines with the grape varietal. White wine grapes account for 90 per cent of the area's production and, surprisingly for such a small area, its output makes up about 18 per cent of French still wines.
Wines from Alsace show pure fruit with distinctive aromatics - flowers, spice and refreshing acidity and minerality. New oak is never a factor - in fact old barrels are treasured and used for decades.
The classic noble grapes of Alsace are:
The Alsace version is drier, with a higher alcohol content, than its German counterpart. This is the most widely planted grape in Alsace and the last to ripen.
Previously referred to as "Tokay d'Alsace" until the Hungarians took umbrage at the use of the word "Tokay".
Not sweet but fragrantly floral with a grapey aroma.
