Vineyard of Alsace

The vineyard of Alsace extends from north in the south of the Alsace on a hundred kilometers, on the side is the Vosges. The surface of production is of 14 600 hectares distributed out of 119 communes.

The wines of Alsace are mainly white, vinified by Cépage S: Riesling, gray Pinot, Gewurztraminer, Muscatel of Alsace, Sylvaner, white Pinot, Klevener.

the Edelzwicker is an assembly of several type of vines.

the Creaming of Alsace is an effervescent white wine.

the black Pinot is the only red or rosy type of vine of the area. It is at the base of names black Pinot, Rouge of Ottrott, Rouge of Stephansberg, etc

A type of vine, the Chasselas, is especially eaten directly and is very only seldom vinified.

Names

The wines of Alsace are classified in AOC (Name of Controlled origin) since 1984 (decree of March 1st 1984).

a.O.C. Wine of Alsace or Alsace often mentions the name of type of vine or Edelzwicker (mixture of type of vines). The label can also mention a locality.
a.O.C. Alsace Great wine . Only the Riesling, the Gewurztraminer, the gray Pinot, the Muscatel of Alsace and lately the Sylvaner are authorized. There exists 51 delimited localities being able to profit from name Great wine .
the Creaming A.O.C of Alsace. They are effervescent wines containing white Pinot, black Pinot, gray Pinot, Riesling or Chardonnay elaborate on a traditional method as in Champagne.
a.O.C. Klevener de Heiligenstein, name devoting the type of vine Traminer
a.O Kaefferkopf, simple name because validated and delimited by decision of the courts in 1932, therefore before the creation of a.O.C

Since a decree of December 1999, the wines with name of controlled origin Alsace and Alsace Great wine can be declared and presented with one of the particular mentions late Vendanges or Sélection of noble grains if they correspond to strict conditions (manual grape harvest, minimal sugar contents, wines resulting only from the type of vines Gewurztraminer, gray Pinot, Riesling and Muscat of Alsace.)

Route du wine in Alsace

Only 67 of the communes of the large plain of Alsace form the “Wine trail in Alsace” such as definite in May 1953.

In the Department of the Low-Rhine:

Avolsheim,
Andlau
Barr,
Dambach-the-City,
Gertwiller,
Marlenheim, Mittelbergheim, Molsheim,
Obernai, Ottrott, Orschwiller
Rosheim,
Saint-Hippolyte,

In the Department of Haut-Rhin:

Ammerschwihr,
Beblenheim, Bergheim,
Cernay (Haut-Rhin), Colmar,
Gueberschwihr, Guebwiller,
Eguisheim,
Hunawihr, Husseren-the-Castles,
Katzenthal, Kaysersberg, Kientzheim,
Mittelwihr,
Ribeauvillé, Riquewihr, Rouffach, Rodern, Rorschwihr
Sigolsheim, Soultz,
Thann, Turckheim,
Westhalten, Wintzenheim,
Zellenberg

History

Production

Annual production
On average 1,2 million hectolitres (160 million bottles). In 2004, according to the interprofessional committee of the wines of Alsace, the volume of harvest reached 1 263 564 hectolitres, in rise of 7,4% compared to the average of five preceding harvests.

Type of vines

Riesling (281 001 hl in 2004)
Sylvaner
black Pinot
Gewurztraminer (221 293 hl in 2004)
white Pinot (274 994 hl in 2004)
Muscatel of Alsace
gray Pinot
Klevener
nice the

List of the Great wines of Alsace

See

Wine trail of Alsace
French Wines

External bond

CIVA (Interprofessional committee of the Wines of Alsace)
20dalsace.com: 100% wines of Alsace: Current events, interviews, reports, files, account returned of visit, tastings, councils, biblio, bonds
Oenotourisme: ALL Villages of the Wine trail of Alsace under http://www.alsace-route-des-vins.com
Alsace wines - site of information on the wines of Alsace
Gate of the Trade union of the Vine growers Independent of Alsace (SYNVIRA)
Alsace vineyard, two Belgians impassioned by the wine of Alsace
the brotherhood Etienne Saint of Alsace http://www.confrerie-st-etienne.com/
the brotherhood of the Friends of Ammerschwihr and Kaefferkopf http://www.kaefferkopf.org/
Current events of the wines of Alsace http://www.seilly.com

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