Another shade of ALSACE

In the shadow of the Vosges Mountains, Dominic Rippon finds a lot to love about Alsace’s lesser-known red wines

- Dominic Rippon

Much has been written about the white wines of Alsace, made from the noble riesling, the spicy gewürztraminer, the perfumed muscat and the full-bodied siblings pinot gris and pinot blanc. They come in a vast, at times confusing, array of styles, from dry and steely to sweet and luscious, sometimes with little indication on the label of which style of wine that the bottle might contain.

Far less ink has been spilled in praise of Alsace’s red wines. The pinot noir variety is an ingredient in white crémant d’Alsace, France’s most widely drunk traditional method bubbly after champagne, but is the only variety used to make Alsace rosé (still and sparkling) and rouge.

Historic roots