Alsatian White Wines

Ninety percent of the wines of Alsace are whites.  That should tell us something.  You may figure either reds don't do well there or the whites of Alsace are so good, why bother with the reds.  For what it's worth, Pinot Noir makes up the bulk of the ten percent non-white grape composition and it's pretty ordinary.   

There are six notable white wine grapes allowed in Alsace.  By vineyard plantings they are Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Auxerrois, Sylvaner and Muscat (which is actually a couple of related varieties under that heading.)  By sales, Riesling ranks first followed by Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, and Pinot Blanc.  By critical acclaim, it's Gewurztraminer first, then Riesling followed by Pinot Gris.  What's my point here?  Actually, I don't know, since we've already said everything white from Alsace is great.

All varietally labelled wines in Alsace must be 100% of that variety.  The only blending allowed happens in Edelzwicker and Gentil, which are clearly second class citizens in Alsace.  All of the varietals are AOC recognized by French wine law.  The blends, as a rule, are vin de table.  But like we have said, by world standards, the blends are exceptional also.

The obvious question for this admittedly polemical post is, What makes Alsatian whites so good, and perhaps relatedly, Why are they labelled varietally when no other French appellation does that?  In short, that's because they are so true to type.  They are models for the rest of the world to imitate.  Their charm starts with their very aromatic character which the rest of the world has noticed.  Alsatian wines are ascendent in popularity while other French regions are in decline.

Alsatian Rieslings are always very dry.  The very popular Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer are a little less so.  Auxerrois is genetically the same as Chardonnay, coming from the same parentage, and since oak barrel aging is rare in Alsace, it tastes more pinot-like than what we think of in Chardonnay.  Unfortunately, as the neighboring German wines have gotten drier, in general, Alsatians seem to be getting less so.  

Want to really know why Alsatian whites are so good?  History.  And viticulture.  Alsace displays a diversity in soils, elevations, microclimates and so on and winemakers there have planted the different types accordingly.  They have taken advantage of the natural barrier to oceanic influence in the Vosge mountains to the west and of course, they have utilized the temperature moderating Rhine River influence to the east.  They have high trellising to maximize sun exposure and protect the vines from frost and since viticulture has been here since the entry of the Romans in the first century, the lengthy viticultural learning curve has panned out quite nicely.  In short: Alsatian winemakers just know how to make great white wine.