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Alsace villages show their mixed German / French history

It’s June and Alsace Rocks!
Our French Winophiles are exploring (virtually) Alsace this month. The region is in the far northeastern corner of France, nearly on the border of Germany. The grapes are grown on the eastern foothills of the ancient Vosges Mountains. With the northern latitude, the grapes are mostly white wine grapes, plus Pinot Noir as it can ripen in a cooler northerly climate. The wine region is in the rain shadow of the mountains, so it has less rain and more warmth in the fall to allow grapes to ripen. Wines typically receive very little new oak influence and offer crisp acidity. Unlike their German neighbors, Alsace wines are dry or nearly so unless they are intended for dessert.  Fall morning fog allows late harvest wines to enjoy the influence of botrytis, the noble rot that increases sugar, intensity and flavors while retaining acid. Yow!

Alsace vineyards stretch from the valley floor right up the hillsides of the ancient Vosges mountains

The French Winophiles Explore Alsace From Every Angle
This month, many of our group received a set of wines samples courtesy of Teuwen Communications, the coordinators of the Alsace Rocks! promotion.  In our posts below, you’ll note several different themes. Of course, we also encourage independent posts from our group and visitors.  Visit our posts when they go live this weekend.  All posts will be live by Saturday June 16.

Storks are the unofficial mascot of the region, and they really do roost in the villages!

Please join our chat on Twitter – whether you posted or not.  We love visitors and happily chat and answer questions. Simply tune in to the #winophiles hashtag on Twitter this Saturday, June 16 at 10am CDT. You can also check out the #AlsaceRocks hashtag for more Alsace fun during and after the chat.

Here’s a list of great Alsace wine suggestions from our Winophiles

• Robin at Crushed Grape Chronicles shares “A Palette of Pinots – The Hues of Alsace”
• Martin at Enofylz Wine Blog shares “Pinot d’Alsace…Yes Please!”
• Rupal at Syrah Queen shares “Rockin Alsace With Pinots”
• Julia at Julia Coney shares “Alsace – Where Pinot Rocks!“
• Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm shares “Alsace Rocks the Summer Grilling Scene”
• Jeff at Food Wine Click! shares “Alsace Wines in the American Kitchen”
• Lauren at The Swirling Dervish shares “Alsatian Temptation: Wine from the Vosges Mountains in France“
• Jane at Always Ravenous shares “Tips and Recipes for Alsace Pairings”
• Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares “Alsace Pairing Challenge? Accepted!”
• Olivier at In Taste Buds We Trust shares “Taking gewürztraminer to a higher level”
• Michelle at Rockin Red Blog shares “Getting Dirty with Alsace Riesling“
• Payal at Keep the Peas shares “Alsace: A Geologist’s Dream”
• Jill at L’Occasion shares “A Riesling Experience: Nuanced Terroirs of Alsace”
• Liz at What’s in that Bottle shares “All in for Alsace Riesling”
• David at Cooking Chat shares “Pork and Cabbage Skillet with Riesling from Alsace”
• Gwen at Wine Predator shares “Alsace Rocks 4 Riesling With Fondue!”
• Nicole at Somm’s Table shares “Alsace-a-palooza Part 1: The Wines”

The quaint Alsace village of Ribeauvillé