In Alsace, white grapes are paramount, and 90% of AOP wine is white. In 2008, this figure represented 18% of France’s total AOP still white wine production. Despite the presence of Pinot Noir, the four “noble” grapes of Alsace – Riesling, Pinot Gris, Muscat (either Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains, Muscat Rosé à Petits Grains or Muscat Ottonel), and Gewurztraminer – occupy the premier sites and are, with minor exceptions, the only grapes planted in the region’s grand cruvineyards. The region’s main appellation – Alsace AOP, or Vin d’Alsace AOP – allows the aforementioned noble grapes, Pinot Blanc (Klevner), Chasselas (Gutedel), Sylvaner, and Pinot Noir to be bottled varietally. Alsace wines generally state the variety on the label. With the exception of Pinot Blanc, which is often blended with the similar but not synonymous Auxerrois, all varietally labeled Alsace AOP wines must contain 100% of the printed grape. Even if bottled as a single variety, Auxerrois may be accorded the title of “Pinot Blanc” on the label. White wines simply labeled „Pinot,“ on the other hand, may contain any proportion of related varieties – Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, and Auxerrois.
When considered collectively, Pinot Blanc and Auxerrois represent the largest volume of appellation production. Riesling, however, is the most planted grape and Alsace’s last noble grape to ripen. Alsatian Rieslings are characteristically dry, more powerful, and higher in alcohol than their German cousins. They are amongst the longest-lived dry whites in the world, due to a pronounced acidity and minerality. With sweetness creeping steadily upward in recent years, Alsatian AOP law mandates, from 2008 forward, that standard Riesling wines must be dry in style. Pinot Gris, formerly called Tokay d’Alsace or Tokay Pinot Gris, is perhaps Alsace’s quintessential wine: the grape here achieves its fullest, richest expression, with spicy-smoky qualities and a frame solid – though hardly high-acidity. Muscat and Gewurztraminer are both highly aromatic; Muscat shows fragrant floral and grapy notes whereas Gewurztraminer tends toward perfumed, sweet spices and tropical fruit. Both are lower in acidity, but Gewurztraminer is higher in alcohol and more likely to be off-dry. New oak is usually not a factor in the vinification of these varieties, although many producers use large neutral casks for fermentation and aging.
The noble grapes may dominate Alsace today, but this is a recent development. Gewurztraminer is a pink-berried clone of the traditional grape Traminer, and steadily replaced it in Alsace’s vineyards throughout the latter half of the 19th century. Another pink variant of Traminer – known as Savagnin in the Jura – retains a few plantings around the commune of Heiligenstein in the Bas-Rhin; the grape is known locally as Klevener. This Savagnin Rose, or Klevener de Heiligenstein, is less intensely aromatic than Gewurztraminer but higher in acidity. Five communes may bottle this wine varietally under the existing Alsace AOP: Heiligenstein itself, Bourgheim, Gertwiller, Goxwiller, and Obernai.
If no grape variety is listed on the label, an Alsatian wine may be a blend. The term Edelzwicker (“noble mixture”) usually indicates its own inverse: an inexpensive blended wine. Alsace AOP wines labeled Edelzwicker do not need to be vintage-dated, nor are they even legally obligated to contain more than one grape. In practice they are blends, however, and do not need to indicate any percentages or grapes on the label. Gentil is a superior designation for blends, requiring a minimum of 50% noble grapes. Any other Alsace AOP grape may compose the remainder, and the base wines must be vinified separately. Finally, some producers advocate field blends as the best approach for serious wines. In this case, the grapes are typically vinified together and produced under a vineyard name. Marcel Deiss is one of the staunchest advocates of using this approach as a means of emphasizing Alsatian terroir.
Pinot Noir is the only red variety permitted for Alsace AOP wines. Light red and rosé wines are the result, although the wines can achieve depth in warmer vintages. Pinot Noir may contribute to the Crémant d´Alsace AOP blend, although Pinot Blanc is the workhorse for these sparkling wines. Rosé versions of Crémant d’Alsace are solely made from Pinot Noir, gaining color either from maceration or from the saignée method. Crémant d’Alsace is the only appellation in the region to allow Chardonnay; Riesling, Pinot Gris and Auxerrois are also authorized. Sparkling wine production has developed into a profitable and expansive pursuit for Alsatian houses, commanding nearly a quarter-share of the appellation’s output.