Alsace Wines

The Alsace region of northeastern France is bordered by the Vosges mountains to the west and the Rhine River to the east. The famous Alsace Wine Route runs from north to south for about 100 miles, encompassing beautiful vineyards and picturesque villages. The region is ideally suited to cultivating vines, with abundant sunshine and a diversity of soils, such as granite, limestone, schist and sandstone. In fact, winemaking in Alsace dates back to the Roman era. Today, more than 90% of the wines from Alsace are white wines. Every Alsace wine is an "appellation wine," belonging to one of three AOCs (Appellations d'Origine Contrôlées), which attest to the wine's origin and is a guarantee of authenticity: AOC Alsace, generally identifying the grape variety on the label; AOC Alsace Grand Cru, indicating the 51 vineyards entitled to this status, and AOC Crémant d'Alsace, the sparkling wine of the region, made in the traditional method of bottle-fermentation.

Alsace wines have earned a well-deserved reputation among the finest white wines in the world, ranging from dry, refreshing white wines, to more complex white wines capable of considerable aging. Alsace Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris and Crémant d'Alsace - just a few of the many versatile wines of this unique corner of France.

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