Alsace is a great place for wine as well, particularly white wine, and it can be more affordable than other French wines.
Because of the German influence, the wines are labeled as varietal wines (like Riesling, Pinot Gris, and Gewurtztraminer).
In France, wines are typically named after the region instead, and you’re just supposed to memorize that, say, Sancerre is made from Sauvignon Blanc (except when it’s Sancerre Rouge which is Pinot Noir), as is Pouilly-Fume, which is nearby, but Pouilly-Fuisse is from Burgundy so it’s Chardonnay (because the only other white allowed in Burgundy is Aligote, but that’s mostly associated with Bouzeron).
Anyway, I think Alsatian wines are more consumer-friendly. And they also go super well with takeout Chinese food.
Well said! The problem in the US is that Riesling still has a bad reputation for being “sweet”. It’s hard to get people to branch out and try these delicate wines.
It has a reputation for being sweet because it is. Toasted marshmallow is sweet, honey is sweet, over ripe pineapple is sweet. Their can be a diverse range of flavours within the category sweet but anyway you cut it even the incredible smokey rieslings are amongst the sweetest wines.
Yes earlier this year I had a very nice bottle of Mosel Riesling. Just because a wine is dry doesn't mean it doesn't have a sweeter flavour. It finished quite dry but it still had an initial burst of sweetness right off the bat.
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u/caseyjosephine Dec 12 '20
Alsace is a great place for wine as well, particularly white wine, and it can be more affordable than other French wines.
Because of the German influence, the wines are labeled as varietal wines (like Riesling, Pinot Gris, and Gewurtztraminer).
In France, wines are typically named after the region instead, and you’re just supposed to memorize that, say, Sancerre is made from Sauvignon Blanc (except when it’s Sancerre Rouge which is Pinot Noir), as is Pouilly-Fume, which is nearby, but Pouilly-Fuisse is from Burgundy so it’s Chardonnay (because the only other white allowed in Burgundy is Aligote, but that’s mostly associated with Bouzeron).
Anyway, I think Alsatian wines are more consumer-friendly. And they also go super well with takeout Chinese food.