Half-timbered houses in the Petite France
district on the Ill river, Strasbourg.
‘We are not good at selling Alsace,’ says Marc Wucher of Le Parc Hôtel in Obernai – a 30-minute drive from the Alsatian capital, Strasbourg. ‘Our history is complicated,’ he explains, pointing to a photo of his mother, who helped Alsatian men escape conscription into the Germany army during World War II. The Third Reich annexed Alsace, suppressing the French language, books, funerary inscriptions, posters and other symbols. Even so, some Alsace natives willingly fought on the German side.
In southern Alsace, as she inspects Riesling grapes at 12th-century Château Ollwiller, French oenologist Marie Bordy points to an adjacent mountain, where her great grandfather died while fighting for the German army in World War I. During the battle, French bombs damaged the estate which, along with the rest of Alsace, was part of Imperial Germany between 1871 and 1918.
Both establishments have been renovated over the years, reflecting Alsace’s complex architectural history – from medieval timber-framed buildings of the Germanic Holy Roman Empire to 18th-century French Baroque. The region’s impressive range of soils is just as varied as its architectural tapestry: from sandstone and slate to limestone and clay.
Looking down on the village of Andlau from the southeast, with the Chapelle St-André to the left. Credit: Leonid Andronov / Getty Images
A flavour of history
Alsace’s history is complex, but it provides a fascinating backdrop for the region’s wine and cuisine. Germanic influences loom large, from grand cru vineyard names such as Schlossberg and Rosacker to local food staples pork, potatoes and cabbage. Flute-shaped wine bottles bear the names of non-French varieties such as Riesling and Gewurztraminer.
However, in common with many compatriots, Alsace wine council representative Foulques Aulagnon insists: ‘We are thoroughly French.’ Climate change may have led to recent oscillations between heavy rain and heatwaves and drought, but ‘the fact remains that on the other side of the Rhine, it still rains more than in Alsace’, Aulagnon says. Alsace is one of France’s driest and sunniest wine regions, where cool summer nights and warm days permit grapes to ripen evenly.
Spring and autumn are ideal seasons for a visit, as Alsace’s semi-continental climate often brings cold, if dry, winters and sometimes stiflingly hot and stormy summers. But any time is a treat for wine lovers, given Alsace’s impressive variety of wines and food options – with 33 Michelin-starred restaurants, Alsace is a region that’s strongly represented in the famed gastronomic guide’s 2024 edition. Its scenic, Instagrammable wine route is also dotted with centuries-old villages home to half-timbered houses and ever-present flowers nestling in sloped vineyards, each with its own fascinating history.
Credit: JP Map Graphics Ltd
Alsace wine: The facts
Area planted (2023): About 15,500ha
Producers: 3,030, including 710 wineries and wine-growers
Appellation: Alsace AP officially instituted in 1962 and today accounts for about 70% of production; Alsace Grand Cru AP introduced in 1975, progressively expanding to 51 sites classified as such, accounting for about 5% of vineyard area and 3.5% of total production in 2022
Authorised grand cru grapes: Gewurztraminer, Muscat, Pinot Gris and Riesling, but also more recently Sylvaner in Zotzenberg and Pinot Noir in Hengst, Kirchberg de Barr and Vorbourg, with blends allowed in Altenberg de Bergheim and Kaefferkopf
Crémant d’Alsace: Sparkling wine made using the traditional method; accounts for 33% of production
Vendanges Tardives: Sweet wines made from grapes picked when overripe (literally ‘late harvest’)
Sub-regions: The southern Haut-Rhin, which counts 37 grands crus, and the northern Bas-Rhin with 14
Must-visit-wineries
Any trip to Alsace should include a visit to 17th-century Domaine Gresser in the…
Source : https://www.decanter.com/wine/wine-lovers-guide-to-alsace-546313/
