Alsace wine

Along with Austria and Germany, it produces some of the most noted dry Rieslings in the world as well as highly aromatic Gewürztraminer wines.

It is further believed to have been brought back to Alsace by General Lazarus von Schwendi after his campaign against the Turks in the 16th century.

It was planted in Kientzheim under the name "Tokay", taken from Hungary's most famous wine Tokaji, which does not use Pinot gris, but rather Furmint and Hárslevelű mainly.

[5][6][7] The geography of the wine growing area in Alsace is determined by two main factors, the Vosges mountains in the west and the Rhine river in the east.

The vineyards are concentrated in a narrow strip, running in a roughly north–south direction, on the lower eastern slopes of the Vosges, at altitudes of 175–420 metres (574–1,378 ft).

Because of predominantly westerly winds, the Vosges mountains tend to shelter Alsace from rain and maritime influence, and the region is therefore rather dry and sunny.

The city of Colmar in the Haut-Rhin department of Alsace receives approximately 600 millimetres (24 in) of precipitation a year on average, but the amount can vary greatly between sites.

While the slope down the Vosges is generally east-facing, many of the best sites are south-west to south-east facing, and benefit from extra sun exposure.

Alsace as a whole is located on the western part of the Rhine Graben, which is the result of two systems of parallel faults, with a dropped down block between the Vosges and the Black Forest.

Since until 2020 there was no official labeling that differentiated completely dry from off-dry (or even semi-sweet) wines, this occasionally led to some confusion among consumers.

Thus, the only alternative to producing AOC wine is to declassify it all the way down to Vin de table, which generally means that neither grape varieties, region of origin or vintage may be identified.

Vendange Tardive means "late harvest" (which in German would be Spätlese), but in terms of must weight requirements, VT is similar to Auslese in Germany.

This happens in some instances when producers wish to use other grape varieties in their wine, like Domaine Zind-Humbrecht which sells its cuvée Zind, a blend of 65% Chardonnay and 35% Auxerrois.

Some of the best known producers include Maison Trimbach, Domaine Zind-Humbrecht, Hugel & Fils, Léon Beyer, Weinbach, Josmeyer and Marcel Deiss.

Vineyards close to the village Kaysersberg in Alsace.
Map of Alsace with the location of the wine-growing region and some villages marked.
A 2000 vintage Alsace wine labelled Tokay Pinot gris.
Topgraphic map of Alsace showing the importance of the Vosges to the west and river Rhine to the east. Most vineyards are located on the lower stretches of the Vosges, just above the plains leading down to Rhine. Notice the presence of hills and minor valleys which mean that not just eastern, but also southern and northern slopes can be found in Alsace vineyards.
Barrels in Alsace for wines of several notable varieties.
Bottles of Alsace wine, of the typical flûte shape.
Gewürztraminer, which tends to be red-skinned but is considered a white variety, is common in Alsace.
An Edelzwicker.
A Pinot gris.
A Crémant d'Alsace.