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Malcolm Jolley: Alsatian wines are poised for a bright future

Commentary

Vineyards outside of Guebwiller, Alsace, France. Credit: Malcolm Jolley.

I spent the week that turned from September to October in Alsace. I was specifically on the ridges of the Vosges Mountains that ease down into the Rhine River Valley near the picturesque medieval town of Colmar. This is where the grapes grow and where one of France’s more unique wine regions is poised to make a 21st-century comeback.

My days were busy. I traveled in a small crew, accompanied by Toronto-based wine broadcaster and social media star Renée Sferrazza and Chloée Touchette from the Montreal office of Hopscotch Groupe, who organized the trip on behalf of our hosts, Vins Alsace. We met and tasted with at least six winemakers a day.

Alsace may not be the biggest wine region in France, but it has a lot of grapes. What I mean is most producers make wines from many of the grapes that are allowed to make appellation wines labeled AOC Vins d’Alsace. Those wines, with the name of the grape on their labels, are always 100 percent made with that variety.

At a typical winery visit and tasting one might start with one or more Crémant d’Alsace, the local sparkling wines, which are the only ones that Chardonnay may be used in. Then on to dry and more fruit-forward whites like Sylvaner, Pinot Blanc, and Pinot Gris. Riesling would be invariably somewhere in that line-up. Alsatian Riesling is known for being bone dry, as opposed to German versions, often with a strong and generous lime citrus note.

Then, we might taste the big aromatics, most famously Gerwurtztraminer but also Muscat. These would likely be dry styles and then we might go on to sweeter styles. Before we get to these wines, we might detour into the one red grape with which the Alsatians can make AOC wines: Pinot Noir. Then for dessert, we might try a Vendage Tardive (late harvest) or a Sélection des Grains Nobles, made with grapes affected by Botrytis cinerea (a.k.a. “noble rot”).

Even if we tasted through all wines made with all of these varieties of grapes, and made in a variety of styles, we might have only tasted a selection of a given winery’s labels. That’s because, like in Burgundy to the southwest, the wines of Alsace can be very site-specific. There are 51 Grands Crus vineyards in Alsace, which may or may not grow more than one grape variety. There are also specific “lieu-dit” vineyards, which can be named on the bottle, as well as certain villages that can be named. It’s a bit complicated.

Foulques Aulagnon is the Export Manager for the Conseil Interprofessional des Vins d’Alsace. It’s his job to explain the complexities of Alsace wine to those of us who are new to the region, which he did in a seminar at the Conseil’s headquarters in Colmar before he led the three of us through a tasting of forty wines. His job is also to help his vignerons sell their wines to export markets.

Currently, Aulagnon explained, about three-quarters of Alsatian wines are bought in France, and that 25 percent of them are sold directly from the winery. Of the 26 percent of Alsatian wines that are sold abroad, Canada is the region’s third-largest market, behind the USA and U.K. The Alsatians see an opportunity to grow their market share in Canada.

Aulagnon believes Alsace is particularly well poised to capture the attention of the 21st-century wine consumer. He lays his argument down into three parts, which I have taken and expanded on. The first is not entirely politically correct, but it’s evidently true.

We’re not supposed to say there are winners in global warming, but Alsatian winemakers no longer have to worry about ripening their fruit. At Domaine Dirler-Cadé, Ludivine Dirler showed us a picture of her grandfather working the harvest a hundred years ago. It was dated the eighth of November. We had met Ludivine in one of her family’s vineyards as she worked the harvest. It was the thirtieth of September, and the harvest was late this year because of rain.

The Vosges Mountains act as a rain shadow, and despite Alsace’s northern location, on the border of Germany, it’s actually the sunniest region in France. The white wines in Alsace showed tremendous fruit, balanced by cool climate acidity. The Crémant d’Alsace sparkling wines could be made crisp and clean without added sugar. And the Pinot Noirs were complex and well-balanced.

Pinot Noir was mostly planted in Alsace to make pink Crémant, but as the price for Burgundy reds continues to steeply climb, Alsatian winemakers are bottling more and more of it as still wine. Alsatian Pinot Noir, even or especially Grand Cru, is still a relative bargain compared to its cousins in Burgundy.

The second argument is also environmental. Alsace has a high percentage of organic and bio-dynamic producers. Even those who are not certified are bound to non-intrusive viticulture but the nature of the territory. The fine wine vineyards, particularly the Grands Crus, are on steep hills and require manual labour to farm.

The holdings are also, generally speaking small, and the wine companies tend to be family-owned. It’s not uncommon for a winemaking family to have been in the business for centuries. A number of wineries we visited had either celebrated their 400th anniversaries or were preparing for them.

The third argument is in the food. The French say wine is food, which is a way of explaining the integral place of wine at the table. Alsace holds a particular place in the French gastronomic world, with the most Michelin-starred chefs outside of Paris. (And the Alsatians will invariable add that a good many of the Michelin starred chefs in Paris are Alsatian.)

Alsatian wines are built for the pleasures of the table. While I was there it was mushroom season, and there is nothing quite like a fruit-forward but bone-dry Pinot Blanc with a river fish served in a cream and mushroom sauce. And while Alsatians are deservedly proud of their traditional dishes, including choucroute garnie and tarte flambé, they will also point out that their wines are flexible and pair well with just about all cuisines of the world.

I suspect Aulagnon is right and that Alsatian wines are poised for a bright future. In my next column, I’ll introduce some of the characters there and some of the wines they make.

Malcolm Jolley

Malcolm Jolley is a roving wine and food journalist, beagler, and professional house guest. Based mostly in Toronto, he publishes a sort of wine club newsletter at mjwinebox.com.

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