Alsace

The Alsace region of France produces primarily white wine. It is located inbetween two great nations of Germany and France yet seperated from both by the Vosges Mountains to the west and the River Rhine to the east. Alsace is a region that has both French and German influences and it was not until the end of World War II that it could establish itself as one of the world's most prestigous wine regions. Its' grape varieties are similar to those used in German wine. It is also France's only AOC to produce varietally labelled wines. It produces some of the best dry Rieslings in the world. Wines are produced under three different AOC: Alsace for white, rose and red wines, Alsace Grand Cru AOC for white wines from certain classified vineyards and Cremant d'Alsace AOC for sparkling wines. Amazingly, 100% of this region's wine is AC! Alsace produces both dry and sweet varieties of wine. The Vosges mountains protect the region from heavy rainfall with as little as 500mm per year. This combined with the lack of cloud cover means hot summers and sunny, dry Autumns. The result is high levels of sugar ripeness, although in some years drought has been an issue.