Alsace Entry Guide

Alsace is a region which has some of the most trouble fitting into the 
CellarTracker geographical system. Located in the Northeast corner of France, 
Alsace is a cultural blend of Germany and France. This is reflect in the place 
names (‘bourg’ instead of ‘ville’) and in the wines 
where varietals like Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Pinot Gris dominate. Alsace 
is also unique in France in that the wines are traditionally 
varietally-labeled. On a fundamental level there are basically two AOCs in 
Alsace – Alsace AOC and Alsace Grand Cru AOC. With the latter, a lieu-dit 
(or vineyard name) is attached. Additionally, the harvest of the grapes 
(“vendanges tardives” or ‘late harvest’ and 
‘sélection de grains nobles’ (SGN) or botrytisized grapes)  is 
also part of the label nomenclature, though it doesn’t automatically 
translate to the sweetness level of the wine. All these issues make Alsace 
quite incompatible with CellarTracker’s organization.<br>
<br>
Initially, all of Alsace was under the single appellation of Alsace AOC, 
established in 1962. All wines qualifying were labeled that way along with one 
of the nine allowed varietals : Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Muscat, Pinot Noir, 
Pinot Blanc, Tokay Pinot Gris, Pinot (any of Blanc, Gris, Noir, Auxerrois), 
Sylvaner and Chasselas. Small amount of blends called Gentil or Edelzweiker 
were made and entitled to the Alsace AOC as well as Cremant D’Alsace AOC. 
Alsace Grand Cru was established by decree in 1975. It took over 15 years to 
delineate the 50 Grand Cru sites and there was a revision in 2001 which allowed 
blends to be entitled to the Grand Cru designation. To complicate matters, 
there are producers of some of the great wines of Alsace who do not use the 
Grand Cru nomenclature, but prefer to maintain the distinct wine designations 
that they have established even before the creation of the Grand Crus and the 
Alsace AOC.<br>
<br>
We had to make some difficult decisions in CellarTracker and balance the desire 
to communicate as much information as possible with each wine entry with the 
desire for consistency and clarity to avoid duplication.  The major issue was 
the placement of commune or town names. Neither of these have any part of the 
official INAO nomenclature except in the case where the same vineyard name 
occurs in multiple places. Nor is the traditional divisions of Alsace into 
Haut-Rhin (South) and Bas-Rhin (North). Nonetheless, this information is 
valuable to appreciate the differences and subtleties between the wines. We 
have dealt with this matter in the following ways:<br>
<br>
  : By default, Alsace AOC is located within the region Alsace and no 
sub-region. We are well aware that most of the Alsace producers are small and 
have single vineyard located entirely within the commune of their address. We 
have no way to really verify the origins of Alsace AOC labeled wines and 
decided that if the producer did not find it necessary to indicate either a 
commune or vineyard in the larger typeface (and size of typeface is regulated 
and important), then the wine would be considered as just Alsace AOC.<br>
<br>
  : Alsatian Grand Crus are associated with particular communes. Each Grand Cru 
has formatted as Alsace, <commune>, Alsace Grand Cru AOC. The Grand Cru 
name is placed in the vineyard field.  A list of the Grand Crus and their 
associated communes is at the end of this document. The perceptive will note 
that some Grand Crus are shared between communes. The really perceptive and/or 
wine geeky will note that some Grand Crus which are shared are not indicated as 
such in CellarTracker and were placed with a single particular commune. This 
was done for administrative convenience and is subject to revision should the 
need arise.<br>
<br>
  : Named vineyards which are not Grand Cru has been associated with their 
commune as much as possible. In a practical sense, this means all vineyards 
associated with communes who have a Grand Cru vineyard are linked with the 
commune and have the appellation Alsace AOC with the vineyard placed in the 
vineyard field. For vineyards not associated with such communes, we have made 
every effort to break them down between the larger distinction of Haut-Rhin and 
Bas-Rhin. Please note that the Haut-Rhin and Bas-Rhin is intended ONLY for 
named vineyards. The existence of these sub-regions is subject to 
administrative review and elimination if warranted.<br>
<br>
  : While the designations of ‘Vendanges Tardives’ and 
‘sélection de grains nobles’ (SGN) are placed on the labels as 
part of the AOC nomenclature, these designations are listed as designations in 
CellarTracker. This is partly for administrative convenience (string-length 
issues), but mostly to keep Alsace consistent with other regions across the 
world and match how most people think about these wines. We try to keep the 
appellation field for primarily geographical information.<br>
<br>
  : While blends have only recently been entitled to Grand Cru status, we have 
grandfathered them in order to maintain the vintage linearity in the 
records.<br>
<br>
We hope this re-structuring has made the Alsace region less confusing and more 
useful for our users. As always, we welcome any feedback and 
comments.<br>
<br>
Click to see a fantastic article from The Wine Doctor on the 
**[http://www.thewinedoctor.com/regionalguides/alsacegrandscrus.shtml Alsace 
Grand Cru]**.<br>
<br>
And here is our own list of Grand Cru and associated Commune to use as the 
SubRegion.<br>
<br>
|| **Grand Cru** || **Commune** ||
|| Altenberg de Bergbieten || Bergbieten ||
|| Altenberg de Wolxheim || Wolxheim ||
|| Bruderthal || Molsheim ||
|| Engelberg || Dahlenheim ||
|| Frankstein || Dambach-la-Ville ||
|| Kastelberg || Andlau ||
|| Kirchberg de Barr || Barr ||
|| Moenchberg || Andlau ||
|| Muenchberg || Nothalten ||
|| Praelatenberg || Kintzheim Kientzheim ||
|| Steinklotz || Marlenheim ||
|| Wiebelsberg || Andlau ||
|| Winzenberg || Blienschwiller ||
|| Zotzenberg || Mittelbergheim ||
|| Altenberg de Bergheim || Bergheim ||
|| Brand || Turckheim ||
|| Eichberg || Eguisheim ||
|| Florimont || Ingersheim ||
|| Froehn || Zellenberg ||
|| Furstentum || Kientzheim et Sigolsheim ||
|| Geisberg || Ribeauvillé ||
|| Gloeckelberg || Saint-Hippolyte ||
|| Goldert || Gueberschwihr ||
|| Hatschbourg || Hattstatt ||
|| Hengst || Wintzenheim ||
|| Kanzlerberg || Bergheim ||
|| Kessler || Guebwiller ||
|| Kirchberg de Ribeauvillé || Ribeauvillé ||
|| Kitterlé || Guebwiller ||
|| Mambourg || Sigolsheim ||
|| Mandelberg || Beblenheim ||
|| Marckrain || Bennwihr et Sigolsheim ||
|| Ollwiller || Wuenheim ||
|| Osterberg || Ribeauvillé ||
|| Pfersigberg || Eguisheim ||
|| Pfingstberg || Orschwihr ||
|| Rangen || Thann ||
|| Rosacker || Hunawihr ||
|| Saering || Guebwiller ||
|| Schlossberg || Kientzheim ||
|| Schoenenbourg || Riquewihr ||
|| Sommerberg || Katzenthal ||
|| Sonnenglanz || Beblenheim ||
|| Spiegel || Guebwiller ||
|| Sporen || Riquewihr ||
|| Steingrubler || Wettolsheim ||
|| Steinert || Westhalten ||
|| Vorbourg || Westhalten ||
|| Wineck-Schlossberg || Ammerschwihr ||
|| Zinnkoepflé || Soultzmatt ||
  
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CategoryAppellation