Alsace wine region French wine region guide: location, history, appellations, grapes & food
Alsace is France's great white-wine region, famous for aromatic, single-variety wines such as Riesling and Gewurztraminer, its tall flute bottles and its picturesque wine villages.
More info about the Alsace wine region
Geographic position
Northeastern France, along a narrow 100 km strip of vineyards on the eastern foothills of the Vosges mountains, between Strasbourg and Mulhouse, facing the Rhine and Germany, at about 650 to 1,300 feet of altitude.
Origin & history
The Romans brought vines to Alsace, and by the Middle Ages its wines were among the most expensive in Europe, shipped along the Rhine. The region changed hands between France and Germany several times, which shaped its culture and grape varieties. The Alsace AOC was created in 1962, with Grands Crus from 1975 and Crémant d'Alsace from 1976.
Main appellations & varieties
Alsace AOC, Alsace Grand Cru (51 sites) and Crémant d'Alsace. Varieties include Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Muscat, Pinot Blanc, Sylvaner and Pinot Noir, from bone-dry to Vendanges Tardives and Sélection de Grains Nobles sweet wines.
Food specialties
Choucroute garnie, tarte flambée (flammekueche), baeckeoffe stew, Munster cheese, foie gras, pretzels, kougelhopf cake and fruit tarts, plus the Christmas markets' bredele cookies.
Alsace appellations
Main grape varieties of Alsace
Gewürztraminer, Muscat, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Sylvaner