Alsace ou Vin d'Alsace

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Varieties of interest

Terroir

• A mosaic of soils resulting from the collapse of the Rhine Rift Valley: schists, granite, sandstone, limestones, marls, and sandy-gravelly alluvial deposits.
• Plantings at between 200 m and 400 m in altitude on the sub-Vosges foothills, interspersed with deep valleys.
• Semi-continental climate: cold winters (1.9 °C in January), hot summers (above 20 °C in July), and annual rainfall of 500–650 mm across the vineyard area.
• The Vosges act as a barrier to oceanic influences (foehn effect in autumn), yielding 1,800 hours of sunshine per year in Colmar.

• The designations 'vendanges tardives' and 'sélection de grains nobles' have been used in Alsace for more than two centuries and were codified in 1984; the wines are harvested by hand with a minimum ageing period of 18 months.

• A slight residual CO₂, known locally as 'spretsig', enhances minerality and salinity; naturally dominant tartaric acidity characterises the dry wines.
• A proven capacity for ageing: a bottle from the 1472 harvest was served as a toast at a banquet in 1868.

• The alternation of warm days and cool nights, combined with altitudes of 200–400 m, ensures a balance between sugars and tartaric acidity as well as aromatic concentration.

Facts drawn from the cahier's terroir-link section (Lien au terroir) by automatic interpretation — see the source.

Sources

• Product specification (BO Agri, PDF), JORF 29 juin 2016,
• Official trade body site — CIVA