Alsace ou Vin d'Alsace

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Varieties of interest

Terroir

• The vineyard extends across 119 communes of the Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin, stretching 120 km in length and often less than 1 km in width, from Cleebourg and Marlenheim in the north to Thann in the south.
• The Alsatian Rhine vineyard is one of the most northerly in France and Europe, established mainly on the eastern face of the Vosges foothills, with plantings situated mostly between 200 m and 400 m in altitude.
• The Vosges massif acts as a protective screen against oceanic influences, amplified by a foehn effect especially in autumn, which promotes high sunshine levels of 1,800 hours per year in Colmar and low rainfall of 500 to 650 mm across the Alsace ou Vin d'Alsace appellation as a whole.
• The semi-continental climate features cold winters with a mean temperature of 1.9 °C in January, and hot, dry summers exceeding 20 °C in July, with ripening marked by warm days and cool nights.
• The collapse of the Rhine Rift Valley, which began during the Oligocene and Miocene, created a network of faults forming a mosaic of varied soils, ranging from acid brown soils on schist, granite, or sandstone to calcareous brown soils or rendzina-type soils on the sub-Vosges hills.

• The decree of 2 November 1945 recognised Alsace wines as an appellation d'origine and established the expert committee for Alsace wines, ahead of their recognition as an AOC in 1962.
• The law of 5 July 1972, passed following a demonstration by 4,000 winegrowers in Colmar, made bottling within the Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin compulsory in order to preserve the aromatic character of the wines, which had been compromised by bulk transport.
• Wines produced from a historic blend of grape varieties are called Zwicker, subsequently becoming Edelzwicker with the inclusion of so-called noble varieties, used as a complementary designation alongside the appellation.

• The wines display a naturally dominant tartaric acidity and a slight carbon-dioxide saturation known locally as spretsig, which enhances their minerality and salinity.
• Light, fresh, and fruity red or rosé wines, made solely from Pinot noir, may be labelled Clairet or Schillerwein and most often show a pink to transparent red colour of variable intensity.

• The shelter provided by the Vosges massif gives Alsace ou Vin d'Alsace a dry, semi-continental climate with generous sunshine that allows the vine to reach its optimal development.
• The hillside locations, the alternation of warm days and cool nights during ripening, combined with high planting density and a tall canopy, develop and concentrate the aromas of the wines as well as their length on the palate.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

Dénominations géographiques complémentaires

• Alsace Bergheim AOC (PDO)
• Alsace Blienschwiller AOC (PDO)
• Alsace Coteaux du Haut Koenigsbourg AOC (PDO)
• Alsace Côte de Rouffach AOC (PDO)
• Alsace Côtes de Barr AOC (PDO)
• Alsace Klevener de Heiligenstein AOC (PDO)
• Alsace Ottrott AOC (PDO)
• Alsace Rodern AOC (PDO)
• Alsace Saint-Hippolyte AOC (PDO)
• Alsace Scherwiller AOC (PDO)
• Alsace suivi d'un nom de lieu-dit AOC (PDO)
• Alsace Val Saint Grégoire AOC (PDO)
• Alsace Vallée Noble AOC (PDO)
• Alsace Wolxheim AOC (PDO)

All appellations in France

Sources

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