Alsace

Alsace AOC: aromatic whites named by grape - Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer.

The everyday tier and most of the region's wine. The grape on the label is all that's in the bottle: lean Riesling, rich Pinot Gris, perfumed Gewurztraminer, soft Pinot Blanc.

The everyday tier and most of the region's wine. The grape on the label is all that's in the bottle: lean Riesling, rich Pinot Gris, perfumed Gewurztraminer, soft Pinot Blanc.

Labels now say how sweet: sec, demi-sec, moelleux or doux - or show a scale.

Because Alsace grapes ripen well, a wine labelled only 'Riesling' or 'Pinot Gris' could be bone-dry or noticeably sweet. Recent bottles carry a sweetness word or an arrow on a scale; read it before buying for dinner.

Because Alsace grapes ripen well, a wine labelled only 'Riesling' or 'Pinot Gris' could be bone-dry or noticeably sweet. Recent bottles carry a sweetness word or an arrow on a scale; read it before buying for dinner.

Choucroute garnie + dry Riesling.

Fermented cabbage with sausages, pork and potatoes. A dry, high-acid Riesling cuts the fat and matches the sourness.

Fermented cabbage with sausages, pork and potatoes. A dry, high-acid Riesling cuts the fat and matches the sourness.

Alsace Grand Cru + a vineyard name = one of the region's top single sites.

Grand Cru on an Alsace label always comes with a named vineyard, such as Schlossberg or Rangen, and usually one of the four noble grapes. Expect more concentration and longer life than a plain Alsace wine from the same grower.

Grand Cru on an Alsace label always comes with a named vineyard, such as Schlossberg or Rangen, and usually one of the four noble grapes. Expect more concentration and longer life than a plain Alsace wine from the same grower.

Sélection de Grains Nobles (SGN): always sweet, from noble-rot grapes.

Grapes shrivelled by noble rot and picked berry by berry. Luscious, honeyed and long-lived; serve small glasses with foie gras, blue cheese or fruit desserts.

Grapes shrivelled by noble rot and picked berry by berry. Luscious, honeyed and long-lived; serve small glasses with foie gras, blue cheese or fruit desserts.

Pinot Blanc and Auxerrois: soft, apple-fresh everyday whites - and Crémant's base.

Gentle, low-key wines, usually from the plain; labelled Pinot Blanc even when blended with Auxerrois. Cheap and versatile, and the backbone of Crémant d'Alsace.

Gentle, low-key wines, usually from the plain; labelled Pinot Blanc even when blended with Auxerrois. Cheap and versatile, and the backbone of Crémant d'Alsace.

Dry or off-dry? The producer's house style is the best predictor.

Some houses make almost everything dry; others leave sugar when the vintage gives it. Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer are the most likely to be off-dry even without a warning.

Some houses make almost everything dry; others leave sugar when the vintage gives it. Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer are the most likely to be off-dry even without a warning.

Edelzwicker or Gentil = a blend, usually the cheap carafe tier.

A grape name on the label means 100% that grape. Blends of several grapes, sold as Edelzwicker, Gentil or a brand name, are mostly simple and inexpensive, though a few growers make serious ones.

A grape name on the label means 100% that grape. Blends of several grapes, sold as Edelzwicker, Gentil or a brand name, are mostly simple and inexpensive, though a few growers make serious ones.

Hillside versus plain: slopes give the serious wines, the flat land the easy ones.

The best Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Pinot Gris come from the steep foothill slopes. Pinot Blanc and much of the Crémant come from the flatter, more fertile plain.

The best Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Pinot Gris come from the steep foothill slopes. Pinot Blanc and much of the Crémant come from the flatter, more fertile plain.

Alsace Grand Cru: single top vineyards, mostly Riesling, Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer.

The region's classified slopes, each named on the label. Grand Cru Riesling is the reference: concentrated, mineral and long-lived; Gewurztraminer and Pinot Gris from these sites are richer and often off-dry.

The region's classified slopes, each named on the label. Grand Cru Riesling is the reference: concentrated, mineral and long-lived; Gewurztraminer and Pinot Gris from these sites are richer and often off-dry.

Celebration: a Grand Cru Riesling from a top grower.

Weinbach Schlossberg, Zind-Humbrecht Rangen or Ostertag Muenchberg - or Trimbach Frédéric Emile. Local high end that ages for years.

Weinbach Schlossberg, Zind-Humbrecht Rangen or Ostertag Muenchberg - or Trimbach Frédéric Emile. Local high end that ages for years.

A half bottle of VT or SGN for foie gras or dessert.

Late-harvest Gewurztraminer or Pinot Gris, or a rare SGN: rich, honeyed, long-lived.

Late-harvest Gewurztraminer or Pinot Gris, or a rare SGN: rich, honeyed, long-lived.

A strong organic, biodynamic and natural-wine scene - including skin-contact whites.

Alsace has a large community of biodynamic growers. Some go further: native yeasts, no added sulphur and skin-macerated 'orange' wines.

Alsace has a large community of biodynamic growers. Some go further: native yeasts, no added sulphur and skin-macerated 'orange' wines.

Alsace Pinot Noir: the region's red, lighter and fresher - now with Grand Cru sites.

Pale to medium, red-cherry Pinot Noir, getting deeper and more serious as summers warm. Two Grand Cru vineyards, Kirchberg de Barr and Hengst, can now name reds.

Pale to medium, red-cherry Pinot Noir, getting deeper and more serious as summers warm. Two Grand Cru vineyards, Kirchberg de Barr and Hengst, can now name reds.

Sylvaner: light, green-apple, often overlooked - natural growers love it.

A crisp, simple everyday white that can turn surprisingly complex from old vines and careful growers.

A crisp, simple everyday white that can turn surprisingly complex from old vines and careful growers.

Hugel: Riquewihr family house - classic, estate and late-harvest specialists.

A Riquewihr house run by the same family for centuries, with a clear ladder from bought-in 'Classic' wines to estate wines, top sites and late-harvest styles it helped define.

Hugel was founded in Riquewihr in 1639 and is run by the thirteenth generation of the family. Its range is a useful ladder: the Classic wines are made from bought-in grapes and are everywhere on French wine lists; the Estate wines come only from family vineyards, farmed organically and picked by hand; Grossi Laüe, the house's own name for its top sites, sits above that. The family owns around 25 hectares in Riquewihr, nearly half of them classified Grand Cru, including Schoenenbourg, the source of its Riesling Schoelhammer. Frédéric Emile Hugel helped win official recognition for Vendange Tardive and Sélection de Grains Nobles, and these late-harvest Gewurztraminers and Rieslings remain a house speciality. Order the Classic Riesling as a safe bistro choice; an Estate or Grossi Laüe Riesling is the step up; a VT Gewurztraminer is the bottle for foie gras.

Dopff au Moulin: the house that brought bottle-fermented sparkling to Alsace.

A historic house whose Julien Dopff learned the Champagne method around 1900 and helped launch Alsace sparkling; it still makes a broad range of Crémants.

Julien Dopff tasted Champagne at the Paris Exposition of 1900, trained in Champagne to learn the second-fermentation method, and came home convinced that Alsace's own white grapes, especially Pinot Blanc, could make excellent sparkling wine. That insight laid the ground for what became Crémant d'Alsace, today the largest Crémant appellation in France. The house now makes a broad range of Crémants, including Cuvée Bio Nature with no added sugar and Cuvée Julien, its widely available Brut named after the pioneer. Dopff au Moulin also produces still wines, including Grand Cru Gewurztraminer and Riesling. For a traveler, a Dopff Crémant is an easy, fairly priced celebration bottle and a good way to taste where the region's sparkling story began; compare it with a small grower's Crémant to see the range.

The dry-versus-off-dry guessing game: why it happens and how to beat it.

Sunny autumns leave natural sugar in the grapes, and many wines kept some without saying so. Sweetness words and scales help; the producer and grape tell you the rest.

For decades Alsace's biggest drawback was that you couldn't tell from the label how sweet a wine would be. A 'Riesling' from one house might be bone-dry, from another faintly sweet, and Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer were often off-dry with no warning - a real problem when choosing a bottle for a meal. Some producers led the way on transparency: Zind-Humbrecht prints a numbered sweetness index, Trimbach has long held to a classical dry style. Today every still Alsace AOC wine shows a sweetness word or a scale, and growers have pushed for Riesling in particular to be dry unless marked late harvest. Practical rules: look for 'sec' or the arrow at the dry end; expect Riesling and Sylvaner to be the driest, Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer the most likely to carry sugar; if unsure at a cellar, ask 'c'est sec?' Older bottles without any indication are still a gamble.

Trimbach: Ribeauvillé family house - the benchmark for dry, classical Riesling.

An old family house in Ribeauvillé known for a firm, dry style; its Rieslings run from a reliable classic to two of Alsace's most famous bottlings.

The Trimbach family has made wine in Ribeauvillé for many generations and is now run by brothers Hubert and Bernard with the next generation. The house is a standard-bearer for a traditional, classical approach to Riesling: lean, firm and dry rather than plump or sweet, built to go with food and to age. The everyday Riesling shows the house style in miniature. Cuvée Frédéric Emile, the step up, typically needs five to ten years in bottle before it opens. Clos Ste-Hune comes from a small plot inside the Rosacker Grand Cru above Hunawihr and is a rare, highly prized dry white, sold on its own name rather than as Grand Cru. If you want to understand dry Alsace Riesling, start here; a Frédéric Emile is a smart celebration bottle at a far fairer price than Clos Ste-Hune.

Zind-Humbrecht: Turckheim biodynamic estate - powerful site wines with a sweetness index.

A biodynamic estate near Colmar run by Olivier Humbrecht, making concentrated wines from several Grands Crus and walled vineyards, each labelled with a sweetness number.

Domaine Zind-Humbrecht was formed in 1959 when the Zind and Humbrecht families joined forces; the Humbrechts have grown grapes in Alsace since the seventeenth century. Olivier Humbrecht, the first Frenchman to become a Master of Wine, runs the estate biodynamically with low yields. It owns parcels in the Rangen, Brand, Hengst and Goldert Grands Crus and in walled vineyards such as Clos Windsbuhl, Clos Jebsal and Clos Häuserer, and bottles them separately. The wines are concentrated and expressive; some carry noticeable sugar without being dessert wines. To help buyers, the domaine prints a sweetness index on every label - low numbers are dry. The steep Rangen de Thann Clos Saint-Urbain Riesling is the flagship. These are wines for people who like intensity; check the index before choosing one for dinner, and treat a Rangen as the celebration bottle.

Weinbach: Kaysersberg family estate - elegant Riesling from the Schlossberg.

A family estate at the foot of the Schlossberg Grand Cru above Kaysersberg, known for refined, aromatic Rieslings; Cuvée Théo is the approachable classic.

Domaine Weinbach, run by the Faller family, sits in a walled vineyard, the Clos des Capucins, at Kaysersberg, beneath the steep Schlossberg Grand Cru. Its wines are known for combining ripeness with finesse. Riesling Cuvée Théo is the house classic: floral, citrusy and balanced, from the biodynamically farmed Clos des Capucins, and a fine introduction to the estate's style. The Schlossberg Rieslings, including Cuvée Sainte Catherine, step up to more concentration and stony length, and age for well over a decade. The range also covers Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris and late-harvest wines. Order Cuvée Théo on a Colmar or Kaysersberg wine list; a Schlossberg Riesling is a classic celebration bottle that shows what a great Alsace site tastes like.

Ostertag: Epfig biodynamic grower - 'wines of fruit, stone and time'.

A biodynamic estate in Epfig in the northern Bas-Rhin, grouping its wines by fruit, site and ripeness; the Muenchberg Riesling is its signature.

André Ostertag farms around fifteen hectares in Epfig, south of Strasbourg, biodynamically since 1998, and is known for a carefully reasoned approach to site and ripeness. He sorts his range into three families: 'vins de fruit' made from grapes at normal ripeness, such as the dry Pinot Gris Les Jardins; 'vins de pierre' meant to show their bedrock, led by the Riesling from the Muenchberg Grand Cru, an amphitheatre-shaped slope first planted by monks; and 'vins de temps' from very ripe grapes, such as the off-dry Gewurztraminer Fronholz. The scheme is a helpful key to the dry-versus-sweet question: fruit and stone wines are dry, time wines carry sweetness. The Muenchberg Riesling is aged on its lees in tank and made in modest quantities. Ostertag is a good choice for anyone who wants Alsace with a strong sense of place and an organic, low-intervention approach.

Local find: a skin-contact or no-sulphur white from a natural grower.

Alsace is a natural-wine hotspot: amber, textured whites from growers like Christian Binner or Jean-Pierre Frick.

Alsace has quietly become one of France's liveliest natural-wine regions. Christian Binner in Ammerschwihr, from a family farming there since 1770, works biodynamically, uses native yeasts and long aging in big old casks, and adds no sulphur; his Saveurs Macérées is a skin-fermented field blend with an amber tint and real grip. Jean-Pierre Frick makes no-sulphur and slowly oxidative wines that taste closer to the Jura than to classic Alsace, including a Pinot Blanc Sans Soufre. Collaborative projects such as Pépin, coordinated with small organic growers, offer affordable orange and natural whites. These wines vary more than classic Alsace, and some are labelled Vin de France. Buy them from a Colmar or Strasbourg natural-wine shop or caviste, and drink them with charcuterie, cheese or spiced dishes; they are nearly impossible to find at home.

Indice: a producer's numbered sweetness scale on the label.

Zind-Humbrecht's index runs from dry at the low end to sweet at the high end - years before the region-wide rule.

Long before every Alsace label had to show sweetness, a few producers devised their own systems. Zind-Humbrecht's numbered 'indice', printed on each bottle since the early 2000s, rates the wine from analytically dry at 1 upward toward clear sweetness; Olivier Humbrecht also experimented with simple drawings and scales. Other houses used back-label arrows or words. These private scales matter when buying older bottles or tasting at a cellar: an Indice 1 Riesling and an Indice 4 Pinot Gris from the same estate are very different dinner partners. Today the region-wide sweetness indication covers new vintages, but the producer's own number, where it exists, often gives a finer reading than the official four words. Ask about it at the cellar door - growers are usually happy to explain where each wine sits.

The Vosges mountains block the rain: Alsace is dry and sunny for the north.

Vineyards sit on the eastern foothills in the mountains' rain shadow, so grapes ripen fully. That's why Alsace whites are fuller and riper than most northern whites.

Vineyards sit on the eastern foothills in the mountains' rain shadow, so grapes ripen fully. That's why Alsace whites are fuller and riper than most northern whites.

In the glass: Riper fruit, fuller body, more aroma; enough sun for late-harvest styles.

Hillside versus plain: slopes give the serious wines, the flat land the easy ones.

The best Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Pinot Gris come from the steep foothill slopes. Pinot Blanc and much of the Crémant come from the flatter, more fertile plain.

The best Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Pinot Gris come from the steep foothill slopes. Pinot Blanc and much of the Crémant come from the flatter, more fertile plain.

In the glass: Slopes: concentration and length. Plain: lighter, simpler, fresher wines.

Dry or off-dry? The producer's house style is the best predictor.

Some houses make almost everything dry; others leave sugar when the vintage gives it. Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer are the most likely to be off-dry even without a warning.

Some houses make almost everything dry; others leave sugar when the vintage gives it. Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer are the most likely to be off-dry even without a warning.

In the glass: Dry houses: tense, food-friendly. Riper houses: richer, rounder, sometimes sweet.

The dry-versus-off-dry guessing game: why it happens and how to beat it.

Sunny autumns leave natural sugar in the grapes, and many wines kept some without saying so. Sweetness words and scales help; the producer and grape tell you the rest.

For decades Alsace's biggest drawback was that you couldn't tell from the label how sweet a wine would be. A 'Riesling' from one house might be bone-dry, from another faintly sweet, and Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer were often off-dry with no warning - a real problem when choosing a bottle for a meal. Some producers led the way on transparency: Zind-Humbrecht prints a numbered sweetness index, Trimbach has long held to a classical dry style. Today every still Alsace AOC wine shows a sweetness word or a scale, and growers have pushed for Riesling in particular to be dry unless marked late harvest. Practical rules: look for 'sec' or the arrow at the dry end; expect Riesling and Sylvaner to be the driest, Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer the most likely to carry sugar; if unsure at a cellar, ask 'c'est sec?' Older bottles without any indication are still a gamble.

In the glass: From dry and steely to rich and sweet within the same grape.

A mosaic of sites: each Grand Cru vineyard gives its own flavour.

Alsace's slopes mix many soil types over short distances, and growers bottle each famous site separately to show the difference.

Alsace packs many different soils into a small area, and the classified Grand Cru vineyards were drawn around slopes with a distinct character. Growers make the point by bottling the same grape from several sites side by side: Zind-Humbrecht from the Rangen de Thann, Brand, Hengst and Goldert; Weinbach from the Schlossberg above Kaysersberg; Ostertag from the Muenchberg, an amphitheatre slope once planted by monks. Tasting a lineup shows how site shapes texture and aroma - some wines tense and stony, others broad and spicy. Riesling shows these differences most clearly, which is why Grand Cru Riesling is the region's reference wine. For a visitor, a vertical or 'horizontal' tasting across a grower's sites is the best education Alsace offers; ask for it when booking.

In the glass: Distinct site signatures: from taut and mineral to rich and spicy.

Mostly unoaked: old large casks or steel keep the fruit and aroma pure.

Alsace whites are rarely aged in new barrels. Traditional houses use big, old oval casks (foudres); others use steel. You taste the grape, not wood.

Alsace whites are rarely aged in new barrels. Traditional houses use big, old oval casks (foudres); others use steel. You taste the grape, not wood.

In the glass: Pure fruit and aromatics; no vanilla or toast.

Late picking and noble rot make the sweet VT and SGN wines.

In good autumns, grapes are left to ripen and shrivel, sometimes with noble rot, then picked by hand in several passes.

In good autumns, grapes are left to ripen and shrivel, sometimes with noble rot, then picked by hand in several passes.

In the glass: Richer, sweeter, honeyed wines that age for decades.

A strong organic, biodynamic and natural-wine scene - including skin-contact whites.

Alsace has a large community of biodynamic growers. Some go further: native yeasts, no added sulphur and skin-macerated 'orange' wines.

Alsace has a large community of biodynamic growers. Some go further: native yeasts, no added sulphur and skin-macerated 'orange' wines.

In the glass: Textured, sometimes amber whites; more variation, lots of energy.