El vino de Alsacia o vino de Alsacia ( francés : Vin d'Alsace ; alemán : Elsässer Wein ; Haut Rhin alsaciano : d'r Wii vum Elsàss ; Bas Rhin Alsaciano : de Win vum Elsàss ) se produce en la región de Alsacia en Francia y es principalmente blanco. vino . Debido a su influencia germánica , es la única región de Denominación de Origen Controlada en Francia que produce principalmente vinos varietales , típicamente de variedades de uva similares a las utilizadas enVino alemán . Junto con Austria y Alemania, produce algunos de los Riesling secos más famosos del mundo, así como vinos Gewürztraminer altamente aromáticos . Los vinos se producen bajo tres AOC diferentes: Alsace AOC para vinos blancos, rosados y tintos , Alsace Grand Cru AOC para vinos blancos de ciertos viñedos clasificados y Crémant d'Alsace AOC para vinos espumosos . Se producen vinos blancos tanto secos como dulces.
En 2006, se cultivaron 15.298 hectáreas (37.800 acres ) de viña en 119 pueblos de Alsacia, y se produjeron 111,3 millones de litros de vino, correspondientes a 148,4 millones de botellas de 750 ml, generando 478,8 millones de euros de ingresos. De la superficie del viñedo, el 78% se clasificó para la producción de vinos AOC Alsace, el 4% para AOC Alsace Grand Cru y el 18% para AOC Crémant d'Alsace. [1] Aproximadamente el 90% del vino producido es blanco. [2] El 25% de la producción se exporta, y los cinco mayores mercados de exportación de vino tranquilo de Alsacia en términos de volumen son Bélgica , Países Bajos , Alemania , Dinamarca y Estados Unidos . [3]
Historia
Una influencia importante en la historia del vino de Alsacia han sido los repetidos cambios de nacionalidad de la región de Alsacia, que ha pasado de Francia a Alemania y viceversa varias veces a lo largo de la historia. En la historia temprana de la industria del vino de Alsacia, se comercializaron junto con otros vinos alemanes ya que el Rin proporcionó los medios para transportar los vinos. En gran parte de la era posterior a la Segunda Guerra Mundial , los estilos de vino en Alsacia y Alemania divergieron, ya que los vinos de Alsacia permanecieron completamente fermentados, es decir, secos, en gran medida porque estaban destinados a combinarse con alimentos . En la misma época, Alsacia también ha experimentado un impulso hacia una mayor calidad, lo que llevó a que se le otorgara el estatus de AOC. En las últimas décadas, la diferencia entre Alsacia y Alemania ha disminuido, ya que los vinos alemanes se han vuelto más secos y potentes, mientras que muchos vinos de Alsacia se han vuelto más dulces y los vinos de cosecha tardía y estilo postre han sido "redescubiertos" en Alsacia desde la VT y SGN Las designaciones se introdujeron en 1983.
La superficie total de viñedos en Alsacia ha aumentado en las últimas décadas, aunque la superficie total de viñedos franceses ha disminuido. En 1967, había 9.400 hectáreas (23.000 acres) de viñedos de Alsacia, en 1982, 11.750 hectáreas (29.000 acres) y en 2007, 15.300 hectáreas (38.000 acres). [4] Durante el mismo período de tiempo, entre las variedades, Pinot gris ha aumentado más, del 4% al 15% de la superficie del viñedo, mientras que Sylvaner ha disminuido más.
Uso del nombre "Tokay" en Alsacia
Se cree que la variedad de uva Pinot gris fue llevada a Hungría en el siglo XIV, donde recibió el nombre de Szürkebarát . Además, se cree que fue devuelto a Alsacia por el general Lazarus von Schwendi después de su campaña contra los turcos en el siglo XVI. Fue plantado en Kientzheim bajo el nombre "Tokay", tomado del vino más famoso de Hungría, Tokaji , que no usa Pinot gris, sino Furmint y Hárslevelű principalmente. Durante mucho tiempo, los vinos alsacianos producidos a partir de esta variedad fueron etiquetados como Tokay d'Alsace. Sin embargo, en 1993, se llegó a un acuerdo entre Hungría y la Unión Europea (de la cual Hungría aún no era miembro) para eliminar gradualmente el nombre Tokay del vino no húngaro . En el caso de Alsacia, el nombre Tokay Pinot gris se utilizó como paso intermedio, con la parte "Tokay" eliminada en 2007. [5] [6] [7]
Geografía, geología y terruño
The geography of the wine growing area in Alsace is determined by two main factors, the Vosges mountains in the west and the Rhine river in the east. The vineyards are concentrated in a narrow strip, running in a roughly north–south direction, on the lower eastern slopes of the Vosges, at altitudes of 175–420 m.[2] Those altitudes provide a good balance between temperature, drainage and sun exposure under Alsace's growing conditions. Because of predominantly westerly winds, the Vosges mountains tend to shelter Alsace from rain and maritime influence, and the region is therefore rather dry and sunny. Rainfall in Colmar is 500 mm, but can vary greatly between sites, and is the driest city in France. While the slope down the Vosges is generally east-facing, many of the best sites are south-west to south-east facing, and benefit from extra sun exposure.
Alsace's geology is quite varied, with many different kinds of soils represented in the vineyards.[8] Alsace's soils are a result of its location at a geological fault. Alsace as a whole is located on the western part of the Rhine Graben, which is the result of two systems of parallel faults, with a dropped down block between the Vosges and the Black Forest.[9]
Estilos de vino
Almost all wines are white, except those made from the Pinot noir grape which are pale red, often rosé, rarely red (e.g. Rouge d'Ottrott). Sparkling wines known as Crémant d'Alsace are also made. Much of the white wines of Alsace are made from aromatic grape varieties, so many characteristic Alsace wines are aromatic, floral and spicy. Since they very seldom have any oak barrel aromas they tend to be very varietally pure in their character. Traditionally all Alsace wines were dry (which once set them apart from German wines with which they share many grape varieties), but an ambition to produce wines with more intense and fruity character has led some producers to produce wines which contain some residual sugar. Since there is no official labeling that differentiates completely dry from off-dry (or even semi-sweet) wines, this has occasionally led to some confusion among consumers. It is more common to find residual sugar in Gewürztraminer and Pinot gris, which reach a higher natural sugar content on ripeness, than in Riesling, Muscat or Sylvaner. Usually there is a "house style" as to residual sugar, i.e., some producers only produce totally dry wines, except for their dessert style wines.
Almost all production in Alsace is of AOC wine, since there is no Vin de pays region which covers Alsace. Thus, the only alternative to producing AOC wine is to declassify it all the way down to Vin de table, which generally means that neither grape varieties, region of origin or vintage may be identified. However, this solution is mostly avoided since edelzwicker and gentil may be blended from several varieties, i.e. varieties that exceed the AOC rules in the concerned season.
Bottles
There is a legal requirement for bottling Alsace wine in tall bottles commonly called flûtes d'Alsace
.[2] In the AOC rules, the bottle type is actually called vin du Rhin, i.e., "Rhine wine bottle". Without being mandated by law, this bottle format is also common and traditional in many German regions, particularly for Riesling and other traditional white wine varieties.Late harvest wines
There are two late harvest classifications, Vendange Tardive (VT) and Sélection de Grains Nobles (SGN). Vendange Tardive means "late harvest" (which in German would be Spätlese), but in terms of must weight requirements, VT is similar to Auslese in Germany. Sélection de Grains Nobles means "selection of noble berries", i.e. grapes affected by noble rot, and is similar to a German Beerenauslese. For both VT and SGN, Alsace wines tend to be higher in alcohol and therefore slightly lower in sugar than the corresponding German wines. Therefore, Riesling VT and Muscat VT tend to be semi-sweet rather than sweet, while Gewürztraminer and Pinot gris tend to be rather sweet already at VT level. But as is the case with sweetness in other Alsace wines, this depends to a large extent on the house style of the producer.
The required level of ripeness of the grapes, which was increased in 2001, are as follows, expressed as sugar content of the must and potential alcohol:[10][11][12][13]
The producer Aimé Stentz produces a late harvest Pinot blanc known as Pi-Noblesse, which is ineligible for either VT or SGN labelling.
Varieties | VT since 2014 | SGN since 2014 | VT before 2001 | SGN before 2001 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Gewürztraminer Pinot gris | 270 grams per liter or 15.3% potential alcohol or 110 °Oe [14] | 306 grams per liter or 18.2% potential alcohol or 128 °Oe | 14.3% potential alcohol or 104 °Oe | 16.4% potential alcohol or 117 °Oe |
Riesling Muscat | 244 grams per liter or 14% potential alcohol or 102 °Oe | 276 grams per liter or 16.4% potential alcohol or 117 °Oe | 12.9% potential alcohol or 94 °Oe | 15.1% potential alcohol or 108 °Oe |
The minimum required must weights have again been increased to the following:
VT: Riesling, Muscat, Muscat Ottonel: 235 g/l (formerly 220 g/l); Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer: 257 g/l (formerly 243 g/l)
SGN: Riesling, Muscat, Muscat Ottonel: 276 g/l (formerly 256 g/l); Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer: 306 g/l (formerly 279 g/l)
Variedades de uva
Variety | Area 2008 (proportion)[15] |
---|---|
Riesling | 21.7% |
Gewürztraminer | 18.6% |
Pinot gris | 15.2% |
Auxerrois blanc[16] | 14.2% |
Pinot noir | 9.6% |
Sylvaner | 8.9% |
Pinot blanc[16] | 7.0% |
Muscat varieties | 2.3% |
Chasselas | 0.6% |
Other, including Chardonnay and Savagnin | 1.3% |
Mixed vineyards | 0.6% |
Sum | 15 535 ha |
Over the last decades, plantings of Riesling, Pinot noir and in particular Pinot gris have increased, while Sylvaner (once the most grown variety) and Chasselas have been on the decrease.
Varietal labels and similar designations
Alsace is known for being the only French wine-growing region with a long practice in varietal labeling, which was a German tradition long before varietally labelled New world wines scored considerable export success. However, under appellation rules, not all varietal-sounding names on labels need to correspond to a single grape variety. Only one varietal label may be used on a wine, and a blend may not have more than one varietal name on the label.[17][18]
Label | Varieties allowed (if different) | AOC Alsace | AOC Alsace Grand Cru | VT & SGN | Comment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Noble varieties | |||||
Gewurztraminer | Gewürztraminer | X | X | X | Written without umlaut in French |
Muscat | Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains Muscat Rose à Petits Grains Muscat Ottonell | X | X | X | Blends within these varieties are allowed for AOC Alsace, but only for specific AOC Grands Crus in certain cases. Not allowed for Grands Crus on Zotzenberg or Kaefferkopf . |
Pinot gris | X | X | X | Called Tokay d'Alsace before 1994 and later Tokay Pinot gris. The use of Tokay has been phased out to avoid confusion with wines from Tokaji in Hungary. From the 2007 vintage, Pinot gris is the only allowed designation.[5] | |
Riesling | X | X | X | ||
Other single variety labels | |||||
Chasselas Gutedel | Chasselas | X | |||
Klevener de Heiligenstein | Savagnin Rose | X | Allowed for existing vineyards in Bourgheim, Gertwiller, Goxwiller, Heiligenstein and Obernai, with no replanting allowed outside the designation area after 2021. | ||
Pinot noir | X | For red and rosé wines | |||
Sylvaner | X | The variety Sylvaner - pure or mixed with Gewürztraminer, Pinot gris and Riesling - is allowed in wines from the Grand Cru vineyard Zotzenberg | in Mittelbergheim since 2006, but not the varietal label.|||
Labels allowing blends of several varieties | |||||
Pinot[19] Klevner | Auxerrois blanc Pinot blanc Pinot gris Pinot noir, vinified as blanc de noirs | X | Pinot-labelled wines can be varietally pure or blends in any proportions of any of these varieties. Klevner-labelled wines are not supposed to be different. It has been claimed that the blending of Chardonnay into Pinot blanc-labeled wine, while against the AOC regulations, is quietly tolerated by the regulatory bodies.[20] | ||
Edelzwicker | Any variety allowed in AOC Alsace | X | Commonly blended from several varieties in any proportions. | ||
Labels outside the appellation regulations | |||||
Gentil | Any variety allowed in AOC Alsace | Unregulated older designation for blends that has been reintroduced.[21] Consensus seems to be that a Gentil should have a minimum of 50% of the four noble grapes, and can therefore be thought of as a high-end Edelzwicker. | |||
Other varieties grown in Alsace | |||||
Chardonnay | Allowed in Crémant d'Alsace, but not in AOC Alsace wines. Still Alsace wine from Chardonnay can only be sold as Vin de table according to regulations, but its blending into "Pinot blanc" is said to be quietly tolerated.[20] |
Vinos sin AOC
Almost all Alsace wine is produced under one of the region's three AOC designations—Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru and Crémant d'Alsace. Unlike most other French wine regions, there exists no Vin de pays designation for Alsace. This means that wines that do not qualify for AOC status have to be sold as simple Vin de table de France. This happens in some instances when producers wish to use other grape varieties in their wine, like Domaine Zind-Humbrecht which sells its cuvée Zind, a blend of 65% Chardonnay and 35% Auxerrois.[22]
Estructura industrial
Up to 2,000 growers bottle their own wine, but more than 80% of the wine is produced by 175 producers, including many winemaking cooperatives. Even the largest winemaking companies/négociants in Alsace tend to be family-owned.[2] In 2001, approximately 45% of Alsace wine was made by cooperatives.
Productores
Some of the best known producers include Maison Trimbach, Domaine Zind-Humbrecht, Hugel & Fils, Léon Beyer, Weinbach, Josmeyer and Marcel Deiss. Many of the larger houses, such as Hugel, sell both wines from their own vineyards and market wines they have produced from purchased grapes, i.e., operate as négociant. Producers calling themselves "Domaine", such as Zind-Humbrecht, are supposed to only use grapes from their own vineyards. There are also several winemaking cooperatives, some of which have a rather good reputation.
Route des Vins d'Alsace
The Route des Vins d'Alsace (Wine route of Alsace) is an approximately 170-kilometre-long (110 mi) road, crossing the main wine producing areas of the region. From north to south, the following 67 communes crossed by the Route are:
- Marlenheim
- Wangen
- Westhoffen
- Traenheim
- Bergbieten
- Dangolsheim
- Soultz-les-Bains
- Avolsheim
- Molsheim
- Rosheim
- Boersch
- Ottrott
- Obernai
- Bernardswiller
- Heiligenstein
- Barr
- Mittelbergheim
- Andlau
- Itterswiller
- Nothalten
- Blienschwiller
- Dambach-la-Ville
- Scherwiller
- Châtenois
- Kintzheim
- Orschwiller
- Saint-Hippolyte
- Rodern
- Rorschwihr
- Bergheim
- Ribeauvillé
- Hunawihr
- Zellenberg
- Riquewihr
- Beblenheim
- Mittelwihr
- Bennwihr
- Sigolsheim
- Kientzheim
- Kaysersberg
- Ammerschwihr
- Ingersheim
- Niedermorschwihr
- Turckheim
- Colmar
- Wintzenheim
- Wettolsheim
- Eguisheim
- Husseren-les-Châteaux
- Voegtlinshoffen
- Obermorschwihr
- Hattstatt
- Gueberschwihr
- Pfaffenheim
- Rouffach
- Westhalten
- Soultzmatt
- Orschwihr
- Bergholtz
- Guebwiller
- Soultz
- Wuenheim
- Cernay
- Vieux-Thann
- Thann
Referencias
- ^ CIVA website, read on September 9, 2007
- ^ a b c d Jancis Robinson, ed. (2006). "Alsace". Oxford Companion to Wine (Third ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 14. ISBN 0-19-860990-6.
- ^ "CIVA: Vins d'Alsace en 2006 : Développement à l'export" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-09-08.
- ^ Chandra Kurt: Elsass oder Alsace? – das ist hier die Frage[permanent dead link] (in German)
- ^ a b Jancis Robinson, ed. (2006). "Tokay d'Alsace". Oxford Companion to Wine (Third ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 701. ISBN 0-19-860990-6.
- ^ Jancis Robinson, ed. (2006). "Alsace". Oxford Companion to Wine (Third ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 16. ISBN 0-19-860990-6.
- ^ "Decanter October 11, 2006: Italians lament the end of Tocai". Archived from the original on January 12, 2009. Retrieved June 2, 2008.
- ^ Johnson, Hugh; Jancis Robinson (2001). World Atlas of Wine (5th ed.). London: Mitchell Beazley. p. 125. ISBN 1-84000-332-4.
- ^ James E. Wilson: Terroir p. 84
- ^ Décret du 1er mars 1984 modifié relatif aux appellations d'origine contrôlées « Alsace » et « Alsace grand cru »: Décret relatif aux conditions propres à la déclaration et à la présentation des mentions « vendanges tardives » et « sélection de grains nobles »
- ^ Hugel.com: Vendange Tardive and SGN, read on February 11, 2008
- ^ Weimax Wines & Spirits: Dessert wines, accessed February 11, 2008
- ^ Food.gov.uk: Guide to EU wine regulations, p. 11 Archived 2012-02-07 at the Wayback Machine, accessed on March 18, 2008
- ^ In the range of higher degrees of ripeness, different sources vary considerably in the Oechsle to potential alcohol conversion provided.
- ^ CIVA: Surface area of production, by grape variety (2008) Archived 2011-07-17 at the Wayback Machine, accessed on December 19, 2009
- ^ a b Using 2007 data from Viniflhor stats 2008: Les cepages blanc dans le vignoble, as CIVA only reports the sum of Auxerrois blanc and Pinot blanc under the label "Pinot" as 21.2% in 2008.
- ^ INAO: AOC Alsace appellation regulations, updated until February 16, 2006, Retrieved 2011-04-19.
- ^ INAO: AOC Alsace Grand Cru appellation regulations, updated until January 14, 2007, Retrieved 2011-04-19.
- ^ INAO-regulations for Alsace wines don't allow "Pinot blanc" labels neither as blends nor as varietal wines.
- ^ a b Jancis Robinson, ed. (2006). "Alsace". Oxford Companion to Wine (Third ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 15. ISBN 0-19-860990-6.
- ^ Hugel.com: The background behind the tradition of GENTIL, read on February 11, 2008
- ^ Oenoalsace: Information by Zind-Humbrecht about wines from the 2005 vintage
enlaces externos
- The Official Alsace wines home page (CIVA)
- The wines of Alsace—The official website of France (in English)
- Wines, villages and terroirs of Alsace