September 2007

WINE & SPIRITS

A REGION RICH IN FRENCH AND GERMAN CULTURE ACHIEVES HIGH ESTEEM FOR ITS WINES

When cruising through Alsace's wine country, one thing is for sure: The wine you'll be drinking will almost certainly be white. Noble families have been growing white grapes in the area—a fairytale land in the foothills of the Vosges mountains—for some 18 generations. Positioned between France and Germany, Alsace ping-ponged between the countries for years, but, except for a brief interruption during World War II, it has been a département of France since 1918. Still, the German influence remains everywhere apparent.

Of course, there's another thing you're sure to notice when you're in Alsace: the self-confident vigor of an ancient wine region in ascendancy. Propelled by a new generation, all the talk in the vineyards is of pinot gris—vivid, mineral, with bright citrus acidity—becoming the world's next white wine sensation. And then there's unsung hero Cremant d'Alsace, the region's delicious Champagne alternative. It's half the price, despite being vinified using the same methods as its more pedigreed neighbor.

With its 51 grand cru vineyards, not to mention the unusual coupling of German discipline and French finesse, Alsace has launched a full-fledged campaign to take its place among France's most revered wine regions. The first item on its international agenda is clearing up the widely held misconception that its wines tend to be sweet. Unlike producers across the border in Germany, the Alsace's style actually skews dry, but of course there are some very fine sweet wines as well.

This summer, I tasted all the region's wines on a whirlwind 13-winery tour of many of the most prominent winemaking families. Their properties tend to be postcard perfect with vineyards that run along the slopes above steeple-punctuated, red-roofed towns.