The Alsace
Wine Route is 170 kilometers (about 106 miles) from Cleebourg in the north to
Thann in the south. This route began in
1953 and takes visitors through the middle of the Alsace wine country vineyards
and villages.
The history of the wine making in Alsace goes back to old Roman
times. Castles dot the landscape, villages, churches, vineyards and wines,
cuisine and traditions all make Alsace a unique and magical European
experience.
The vineyards
of Alsace are among the oldest in all of France. For over 20 centuries this
region of France has produced wine. It began in Roman times with the
legionnaires, also known as the Roman Legion, which is basically the ancient
Roman army.
Here begins
the story of wine laws when in 92 AD Emperor Domitian banned planting vines in
Italy, and ordered uprooting half of the vines in production in all Roman
provinces to increase the production of cereals. Other wine laws followed to combat fraud, to
set boundaries, to regulate varieties, to set labeling standards and so on.
Wine laws began in 92 AD and continue on to this day.
Alsace went
through a disastrous time in viticulture when the 30 years war (1618-1648) came
with mass destruction. Also climate change, and wine guilds that didn't work
out lead to problems in wine making for Alsace that continued on until the
French Revolution (1789-1799). After the French Revolution the wine guilds disappeared
and wine making was able to be reorganized.
In the 19th
century there were no regulations on what varieties of vines could be planted.
Following the instructions of Jean-Antoine Chaptal, Napoleon’s minister of
agriculture, they allowed a high sugar content in the wine believing it
increased the level of alcohol, and following the instructions of Doctor Gall
they believed the best way of making a good wine included adding water to bring
down acidity.
Labeling the
bottle (wine labels are referred to as etiquette in France) with the grape
variety and the name of the region began in Alsace in 1919.
In 1945 Sylvaner,
Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Pinot Noir achieved prominence. When France was
freed from German occupation. General de Gaulle signed an edict for the first
appellation dórigine. The demand for quality caused Alsace winemakers to
improve their production. In 1962 Vin dÁlsace was promoted to the rank of AOC
(appellation d’origine controlee), and the number of allowed grape varieties
had been cut to eleven. A limitation in the size of the vines and a reduction
in the maximum yield (130 hl in 1983, 88 in 2000).
The tradition
of Alsace is to make dry white wines and Pinot Noir used for rose or red. Oak
casks are used for a time for fermentation, also stone and stainless steel are
used.The type of varieties grown, the plots of ground they are grown on,
terroir, the direction in which the vines face (mostly south and south-east),
the amount of rain fall and exposure to sunlight all effect the richness,
complexity aromas, sugar content and acidity and other properties . Since the
Middle Ages it has been known that maturity of the grapes depends on the best
exposure to the sun.
Since 1975 51 Alsace Grand Cru appellation was established as a mark for the finest wines
produced in Alsace.
Note on AOC
qualification: 1. Alsace wines can only be bottled in the slender usually green-colored
bottles known as “Flute d’Alsace”. 2.
The wines have to be bottled in the production area.
