France · AOCs

Alsace

Aromatic, mostly-white France in a German idiom — varietally labelled and gloriously food-friendly.

Steep Vosges-foothill vineyards above a half-timbered village
Steep Vosges-foothill vineyards above a half-timbered village
Sheltered in the rain-shadow of the Vosges, Alsace is dry, sunny and planted to a mosaic of thirteen soil types. Its wines are named by grape — Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Muscat — and run from bone-dry to nobly sweet. One of France's densest concentrations of organic and biodynamic estates. ~15,500 ha.

"VT" = late harvest; "SGN" = botrytised sweet.

ClimateSemi-continental, very dry (Vosges rain-shadow), sunny
Altitude200–400 m

Grapes

Muscat, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Auxerrois, Pinot Blanc, Sylvaner

Soils

GraniteLimestoneSchistSandstoneVolcanicMarl
Alsace labels its wines by grape — almost uniquely in France.