Stage 3
Wines by Region
Alsace
The Alsace is located in the north east of France and borders Germany. The region is protected from rain by the Vosges Mountains to the west and because of this Alsace is one of the driest regions in France. The slopes of the mountains offer the best sites for the production of quality wine and have a complex geology and a large range of soils The climate produces long, dry, warm autumns ideal for producing dry, medium bodied wines.
All Alsace wines are bottled in an Alsace flute and the grape variety is always written on the label unlike other French wine regions.
There are a large number of grape varieties grown but the major ones are Riesling, which is used to produce both dry, and sweet wines. Gewürztraminer which produces an intensely perfu med, pungent white wines which can be any style and have a distinctive nose of rose perfume, lychees, stone fruit, musky sweet spices, ginger and cinnamon. These wines are better consumed when young but some can develop honey and nuts flavours with age.
Pinot Gris is also grown here and is the same grape as Pinot Grigio but in this part of the world tastes very different. It is full bodied dry, medium or sweet with spicy tropical fruit flavours.
Key Regional Grape Varieties
- Riesling
- Gewürztraminer
- Pinot Gris
- Pinot Blanc
- Pinot Noir