My Alsatian Odyssey Continues

The medieval town of Eguisheim in Alsace, France is laid out in a series of concentric circles with several main streets named after three of the region’s most famous grapes—Rue du Riesling, Rue du Muscat, and Rue du Traminer—an indication that you’ve definitely arrived in white wine country.

In fact, six of Alsace’s seven most common grape varieties are white—Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Muscat, Pinot Blanc, and Sylvaner—with the lone red variety being Pinot Noir.

Many of these white wines are dry and almost all are made from a single variety that is named on the label. The Vosges Mountains keep this region sunny and dry—perfect conditions for wines with a bit more power than the average white.

Two kinds of rare, late-harvest wines are also made here—and only from Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Riesling, or Muscat which are known as Alsace’s “noble” varieties. Wines labeled Vendage Tardive (VT) are made from grapes that are often picked weeks after the official harvest begins and are sometimes affected by noble rot (botrytis cinerea).

Sélection de Grains Nobles (SGN) wines are made from successive passes through the vineyard to pick individual grapes that have begun to shrivel from the advancing rot. These late-harvest styles are powerful and concentrated, but while VTs can be dry or only lightly sweet, SGNs are liqueur-like dessert wines with intense aromatics. The best examples of both VTs and SGNs also have a streak of lip-smacking acidity.

The very small amount of Pinot Noir grown here is used for rosé or red wine or as part of the blend in Crémant d’Alsace, a white sparkling wine made in the same traditional method as Champagne, whereby the secondary fermentation takes place in the bottle.

On our way to Eguisheim we stopped in the city of Colmar, hoping to find Ann-Marie (wife of the noted wine producer Marc Tempé) at her wine shop La Sommelière on Place de la Cathédrale. The shop was closed, but at a local café I consoled myself with one of the region’s most famous gastronomical specialties—Tarte Flambée.

This thin, crispy, pizza-like creation, topped with crème fraîche, minced onions, and tiny bits of bacon was just the ticket to recover from my despondency—was I going to find Marc Tempé or be forced to decide on another producer?

Tags: wine | France