Riesling is arguably the world's finest white wine grape, and it is certainly the raw material for the finest wines of Alsace. (This is perhaps a subjective statement...Riesling and Gewurztraminer are so wildly different that they don't bear direct comparison, and no doubt there are those who prefer Gewurz. However, great Riesling leaves one with a impression that keeps haunting the mind and soul; great Gewurztraminer will haunt the heart.) Although I'm not a fan of stereotyping a grape or a region, there is a profile that may accurately describe character of Alsatian Riesling: it is more regal, majestic, and serious than any of the other grapes of Alsace, and is concommitantly, when compared to its regional peers, a bit chilly and aloof.

The dry Rieslings so typical of Alsace depend upon the long, warm Alsatian summer (so the grape sugars can build up towards full ripeness and yet keep Riesling's naturally high acids from becoming overwhelming). The resulting wines are usually around 12% alcohol, which is a much more powerful wine than typical Rieslings found in Germany's Mosel region are, which usually hover around 8%. Riesling is a relatively early-ripening variety that has a long window of time within which one may pick it to achieve certain qualities in the finished wine. Wines that are meant for early consumption with an "everyday" price are among the earliest picked, and they become (when made well) fresh, lively wines that are easy to drink and often possess a dusty quality not unlike that of powder sugar in the aroma's background. The serious wines—those crafted to make a 'statement', or with long-term aging in mind (20+ years), are made with grapes that are picked after a further maturation period of several weeks (or months in some sites). It is from these grapes that the truly great Rieslings are made. They have an aromatic intensity not present in the earlier-picked wines, and the flavor profile is so dramatic and multi-layered that one can understand how Riesling became so legendary. This is why many Alsatian producers consider Riesling a late-ripening variety, because the grapes picked at the front-end of ripeness aren't good enough. Would that all Alsatian vintners believed this!

In recent years, more Alsatian Rieslings possessing residual sugar have hit the market, the result of consistently warmer growing seasons. Most of these wines (such as Domaine Weinbach's Schlossberg Cuvée Ste.-Cathérine "l'Inédit!") have taken up a new stylistic residence with a small amount of residual sugar that after several years in the bottle seems to have dried out. If you want a great wine with a diver scallop, something from this class of wines would be it. Speaking of food:

(For a more in-depth look at Riesling, click here).

Food & Wine Harmony

Riesling from Alsace is one of the great companions for food, and there is almost no end to the regional foods that work with it (except asparagus...), but perhaps its most traditional pairing is with Choucroute Garnie. As evidence of this, one need only try a serious Riesling (Trimbach Clos Ste.-Hune is one of the finest examples) with beef to understand what a sublime revelation in taste this wine is capable of engendering.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Eguisheim is one of the most rewarding places to visit in Alsace. This video tour offers a bit of the sights around the village.

Popularity: 4% [?]

The city of Münster is the cheese capital of Alsace, thanks to the eponymously named wheels of cheese crafted there. Münster, one of the great jewels of the cheese world,was created at an abbey in this this idyllic river valley more than 650 years ago. Münster is so important to Alsace that there is a Route des Fromages (just as there is a Route du Vin): a beautiful trip through pastures, forests and on into the Vosges.

Anecdotally, one can trace Münster back to the eleventh century, but the first written accounting of it is contained in a 1339 treaty between the Abbey of St. Gregory--the reputed point of origin for the cheese--and the city of Münster which had built up around the abbey over the previous 650 years.

The Character of Münster
I am a huge fan of Münster. It has a tang that is subtle and inspiringly soulful. The creamy texture softens its tartness, highlighting an ineffable elusiveness. But...it stinks. Literally. The red bacteria used to make Münster in combination with the washed rind process makes the cheese reek in a vivid fashion. It can be hard to convince cheese newbies to endure the aroma long enough to eat the stuff. The cheese imported to the U.S. is Münster-Gérômé, which is made specifically on the bald top of the Vosges near Münster. Occasionally one can find other options like Münster-Lisbeth, but since Münster doesn't hold up well for long periods in the distribution pipeline, the smaller production Münsters are typically imported only with a pre-planned destination. By the time the cheese hits the table in the U.S., it is difficult to know how fresh it is, and it can quickly become ammoniated, which is not ideal. If you see it, buy it and try it out right away. It'll stink up the place, but it's so worth it! Especially if you have a glass of...

Gewurztraminer and Münster
Münster is the classic companion for Gewurztraminer, and can often offers an entrée into that boldly characterful wine (for those who are shocked, or at least not immediately captured by Gewurztraminer’s rather slutty charms). I have heard some people say that Gewurztraminer can perform the same favor for Münster, but the cheese is a much smaller hurdle.

If you want red wine, Cru Beaujolais is a classic companion. I think mature Moulin-à-Vent is just perfect, but since that is something of a specialty, wines from the Cru of Morgon are excellent options.

Münster at the Table
There are several ways to consume Münster, the most basic and common being with bread. I also like to cut off the top rind (the rind is edible) and sprinkle cumin seeds on it (others prefer caraway). Leftover Münster is commonly mixed with fromage blanc, crème fraîche, garlic, onions, and herbs (I like chervil and flat-leaf parsley) to make a concoction called Bibalakas, which is traditionally served with fried or steamed potato wedges and field greens. Bibalakas makes for pretty hearty fare, but it is quite a feast!

Münster has almost nothing in common with the Wisconsin sandwich cheese we call Muenster--it is, and this is my opinion of course, infinitely better. (Though I do promote the use of Muenster on your sandwich--if you haven't tried it, you should! I particularly enjoy it with roast beef, and in a ham and cheese omelet.)

Popularity: 5% [?]

I'm going to betray a little bias here, but there is a reason for it: were I able to choose anywhere in the world to which I could retire, it would be to the estate of Domaine Weinbach in Kaysersberg. The nature of the estate is almost too good to pass up, situated as it is so near the beautifully undulating sweep of the Schlossberg Grand Cru, not to mention the ecclesiastical beauty of the estate's most important and on-site holding, the Clos des Capucins. And the wines...excuse me for a moment while I stare off into the distance.... The wines are that good. Brilliant and varied, sometimes they are sensuous and flirty (try the Gewurztraminer from Furstentum--if you like Gewurz, there's little doubt that it will turn you on...as long as the price hasn't scared you away); sometimes cold and aloof at first taste, yet upon your return to the glass the reception is much warmer and exuberant (the Muscat has always given me this sense); sometimes introspective and lyrical, yet singing louder and more carefree with each sip (Altenbourg Pinot Gris...); sometimes stern and ungiving, only to mature two decades later to sing with a poetic minstrelsy, (Riesling Cuvée Théo is this way). I should confess that I react to the wines of many Alsatian estates in this emotional way, but this is the only place I'd want to live. Perhaps because the proprietor's, Madame Colette Faller and her daughters Cathérine and Laurence are so warmly welcoming. I am certain that the combination of great wines and hospitality explain why it is always busy, as tourists are constantly turning up to taste the wines, and visit with the women of the domaine, and make their purchases.

To people just coming to know Domaine Weinbach, they make what must seem like an endless array of wines, with names that get longer and longer. Daughter Laurence is now making the wines, and she has an artistic touch in the winery, making some of the most glorious wines you could ever hope for.

The names of the wines takes some explaining.

Cuvée Théo is named after Madame Faller's husband Théo who died in the late 1970s. The Riesling Cuvée Théo and Gewurztraminer Cuvée Théo are two of the four wines that come entirely from the Clos des Capucins, which is the walled vineyard that is laid out over an almost 13-acre parcel.

Cuvée Ste.-Cathérine is named both for Madame Faller's eldest daughter Cathérine, and for Ste.-Cathérine's day which is November 25. Madame Faller liked the idea of harvesting certain parcels on or around this date each year, and the resulting Cuvées Ste.-Cathérine certainly have unique and other-worldly qualities.

Cuvée Laurence is of course named for same Laurence who is now making the wines. Like the Cuvées Ste.-Cathérine, they are generally picked late.

For more information on the wines and their sources, click here.

Popularity: 8% [?]

The Vineyard Sources and their Wines

The Clos des Capucins is planted with all of the varieties allowed for AOC Alsace. The domaine sources most of its Muscat and about half of its Pinot Noir from this 5 hectare vineyard. It is also the sole source for four of the wines for Domaine Weinbach. The Sylvaner Réserve is a glorious Sylvaner, and I found a 1996 in my basement recently that was still going strong, which flies in the face of conventional wisdom about Sylvaner. Other wines from the Clos include the Riesling Cuvée Théo and Gewurztraminer Cuvée Théo, and also the sole source of the late-November-picked Pinot Gris Cuvée Ste.-Cathérine. Each of these wines has good long-term potential, especially the Riesling which can age beautifully for fifty years or more.

The lieu-dit of Altenbourg, which abuts the Grand Cru Furstentum, produces Pinot Blanc and Muscat for the domaine's Réserve tier of wines, but it is mainly known for the Cuvée Laurence of both Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer. A continuation of this vineyard at the base of the hill (where it is no longer called Altenbourg) is the source of another pair of Cuvées Laurences in Gewurz and Pinot Gris.

The Grand Cru Furstentum is the source for another Cuvée Laurence of Gewurztraminer. The wine that Furstentum produces for Weinbach is at once a subtle and outrageously voluptuous Gewurztraminer. There are often sensational late-harvest wines (I once bought a Gewurztraminer Furstentum Cuvée Laurence Quintessence de Grains Nobles Carte d'Or, and the category it fit into was the mere (ha!) Sélection de Grains Nobles)

The domaine's parcel in the Grand Cru Mackrain is planted with Gewurztraminer, but I have not seen this wine, nor do I know if the estate owns or leases this plot.

A plot in the Grand Cru Mambourg, a recent acquisition, produces excellent, intensely exuberant Gewurztraminer for Weinbach.

The Grand Cru Schlossberg is the source for the other half of Weinbach's Pinot Noir production. But this vineyard is hardly known for its Pinot Noir. Riesling is the most favored variety on the slopes of the Schlossberg, and the domaine produces three (and occasionally more) extraordinary Rieslings from it. The first is the wine labeled "Riesling Schlossberg". The vines are planted in the shallow soils at the top of the Schlossberg and produce pure, tensile expressions of Riesling. The "Riesling Cuvée Ste.-Cathérine" comes from vines found at the bottom of the Schlossberg, where, already predisposed to make a more robust Riesling, the vines are also picked later, resulting in a much more corpulent wine. The "Riesling Schlossberg Cuvée Ste.-Cathérine" vines are planted in the middle of the Schlossberg hill, and yield--thanks to some very mature vines--an even richer expression of dry Riesling, combining power, balance, and grace all at once. And speaking of corpulence, in some vintages (but only since 1998) the estate has made a "Riesling Schlossberg Cuvée Ste.-Cathérine 'L'Inédit'", which usually has a slight amount of residual sugar, but it is still a dry wine within the confines of the "dry" category. For more info on this wine, click here.

Incidentally, the only wine that doesn't thrill me is the Pinot Noir, but I suspect that may just be a philosophical difference: I once read a quote from Madame Colette Faller who opined that Pinot Noir from Alsace (except from a few select sites, surely) is always light, and those who are trying to make Burgundy aren't respecting the Alsatian terroir. I would love to taste the 2003 Pinot Noir--I would imagine that it is more full-bodied...and full of terroir! Whatever is behind it doesn't matter much, because the estate's Pinot Noir is just fine, but I was not drawn to Alsace by Pinot Noir anyway.

Popularity: 8% [?]