The vineyards run in a narrow band along the Vosges foothills. The mountains shelter much of the area from rain, and the soils vary from granite and sandstone to limestone, marl, clay and volcanic soils.
Alsace labels often put the grape name in plain view. That makes a Riesling or Pinot Gris easy to identify, but you still need to check whether the wine is dry or sweet. A regional bottle and a wine from a named grand cru vineyard may carry the same grape name.
Riesling, Pinot Gris and the other grapes
Grapes and styles
Riesling makes white wines with pronounced acidity, the mouth-watering freshness you feel when you drink them. They can be light or concentrated enough to develop over many years. Pinot Gris usually makes a fuller wine, while Gewurztraminer has strong aromas and often a broader texture. All three grapes can make wines with different levels of sweetness.
Muscat has a fresh grape-like aroma. Sylvaner often makes lighter, dry wines, though some named vineyards produce fuller versions. Pinot Blanc and Auxerrois appear in blends and everyday whites as well as sparkling wine. If you prefer a red, look for Pinot Noir; its style varies with the vineyard and producer.
The regional appellation and 51 grands crus
Background
AOC identifies a protected origin with production rules. Alsace has a regional appellation for still wines, a separate one for Crémant d'Alsace, and 51 named grand cru sites. A regional bottle may name a grape, a blend or a smaller place within the region.
Each grand cru has defined boundaries and its own rules. Riesling, Muscat, Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminer are the grapes most closely associated with these sites, though the permitted varieties vary. A grand cru name tells you where the grapes grew; the producer and harvest year help explain differences between bottles from the same site.
Regional whites and sparkling wine
Everyday bottles
For a still white to drink with a meal, look for a regional Alsace Riesling, Pinot Blanc or Sylvaner. Blends are another option. Edelzwicker allows a flexible mix of grapes, while Gentil follows more defined blending rules. Check the sweetness description: residual sugar, the sugar left after fermentation, can vary between wines carrying the same grape name.
Crémant d'Alsace is sparkling wine made by a second fermentation in the bottle. White versions use several permitted grapes; rosé is made from Pinot Noir. The wine ages on lees, the yeast sediment left after fermentation. Brut describes a dry sweetness category, so it helps you choose the style even when the blend is not listed on the front label.
Late-harvest and sweet wines
What sets it apart
Vendanges Tardives and Sélection de Grains Nobles are regulated late-harvest terms used for wines from specified grapes under the Alsace and Alsace Grand Cru appellations. Both have requirements beyond harvesting late. Sélection de Grains Nobles uses selected berries affected by noble rot, a fungus that can concentrate the grapes.
A bottle can retain sugar without carrying either term. The grape name alone will not tell you how sweet the wine is, and its acidity, alcohol and concentration also affect how that sweetness feels.
Grape names, places and sweetness
Read the label
On a bottle labelled Alsace Riesling, Alsace is the regional appellation and Riesling is the grape. Alsace Grand Cru followed by a site name identifies a specific grand cru; the grape will usually be stated too.
A village, vineyard or cuvée name on a regional wine does not automatically give it grand cru status. Cuvée identifies a particular wine in a producer's range. Vieille vigne means old vine; neither it nor réserve is a universal quality classification. For sweetness, look for a scale on the label or a clear description from the producer.
Choosing an Alsace wine
First bottle
Choose a dry Alsace Riesling if you enjoy pronounced acidity, or Pinot Gris for a fuller white. Gewurztraminer is worth trying if you like strong aromas and a broad texture; check the sweetness description before buying. For sparkling wine, look for Crémant d'Alsace.
If you want to compare the white grapes, try a dry Riesling and Gewurztraminer from one producer. Choosing wines with a similar sweetness level makes that difference easier to notice.
3 named areas
Inside the region
Explore the wine-growing areas of Alsace.
- 01Central Alsace36 producersBetween Ribeauvillé and Turckheim in Central Alsace, closely spaced grand cru vineyards grow on limestone, granite and marl. Wines from the same grape can vary from one hillside to the next.
- 02Northern Alsace4 producersNorthern Alsace runs from Marlenheim through Barr and Andlau. Sylvaner and Pinot Blanc have a larger role here, alongside much of the region's Crémant d'Alsace, with fresher, lighter white wines than farther south.
- 03Southern Alsace5 producersSouthern Alsace stretches from Rouffach and Guebwiller to Thann, where volcanic geology becomes more prominent. Rangen, the steep basalt hill above Thann, produces Riesling and Pinot Gris.
Producer profiles
Start with these
Meet 5 producers from across Alsace.
- TrimbachFounded in 1626, Trimbach centres its Alsace range on Riesling, with certified-organic vineyards and old-vine bottlings.
- HugelRiquewihr family producer with reliably dry Alsace wines, Gentil, and Gewurztraminer Vendanges Tardives.
- Domaine Zind-HumbrechtAlsace domaine with biodynamic farming, Riesling, Pinot Gris and Gewürztraminer from sites including Heimbourg and Roche Calcaire.
- Domaine WeinbachKaysersberg domaine at the foot of Schlossberg, with biodynamic vineyards and still wines from Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer and Pinot Noir.
- Domaine Marcel DeissBergheim domaine using biodynamic farming and Alsace complantation for field blend wines such as Engelgarten and Blanc Alsace.
Browse 25 more
- Arthur MetzÉpfig family house managing Alsatian vineyards under sustainable viticulture, with Crémant d'Alsace and Grand Crus from different terroirs.
- BestheimAlsace cooperative with still wines in Bennwihr and sparkling wines in Westhalten.
- Cave de RibeauvilleAlsace cooperative around Ribeauvillé, making Riesling from grapes harvested by hand across granite, limestone, clay and sandstone.
- Cave de TurckheimAlsace cooperative making white wines from member growers, including organic Riesling, Pinot Gris Réserve and organic Pinot Blanc.
- Dirler-CadéBergholtz family estate with organic and biodynamic farming, Crémant d'Alsace, and Riesling Grand Cru wines.
- Domaine Bott FrèresDomaine Bott Frères is a seventh-generation family estate in Ribeauvillé, Alsace, founded in 1835 by Philippe Louis Bott, a brewer's son.
- Domaine Christian BinnerAmmerschwihr Alsace domaine farming 15 hectares biodynamically with no fining, filtration or added sulfur.
- Domaine Etienne SimonisAmmerschwihr domaine with biodynamic farming, hand harvests, parcel vinification and Alsatian whites from Gewurztraminer to Sylvaner.
- Domaine Fernand EngelAlsace domaine in Rorschwihr, farming 64 hectares across 150 parcels with biodynamic practices and Grand Cru Gewürztraminer from Altenberg.
- Domaine Gustave LorentzBergheim house with Grand Cru holdings, organic farming and long lived Riesling.
- Domaine LindenlaubDorlisheim domaine making organic, unfined and unfiltered Alsace wines with a saline finish.
- Domaine Paul BlanckAlsace domaine with five Grand Cru parcels, 90 percent organic farming, and varietal wines from Riesling to Pinot Noir.
- Domaine PfisterDahlenheim domaine with skin contact Pinot Gris, Grand Cru Riesling and 43 parcels across 10 hectares.
- Domaine Saint-RemyWettolsheim Ehrhart domaine with Demeter farming, native yeast fermentations, Jade Riesling and traditional method Crémant.
- Domaine Stentz-BuecherWettolsheim domaine with Grand Cru Riesling and Gewürztraminer plus textured Pinot Noir bottlings.
- Dopff au MoulinDopff au Moulin is a Riquewihr family winery known for bottle fermented Crémant d'Alsace and Riesling from Schoenenbourg Grand Cru.
- Jean Biecher & FilsJean Biecher & Fils is an organic wine producer from Saint-Hippolyte, in Alsace’s Vosges foothills beneath Haut-Koenigsbourg Castle.
- Kuentz-BasAlsace domaine with Husseren-les-Châteaux vineyards, an Ammerschwihr cellar, and La 4ème Tour Riesling and Gewürztraminer.
- La Cave des Vignerons de PfaffenheimAlsace wine cooperative founded in 1957, with more than 300 hectares and Pfaff Black Tie, a Pinot Gris and Riesling blend.
- Léon BeyerAlsace house with Eguisheim roots, dry Riesling and Pinot Gris, plus Pinot Noir.
- Maison LissnerAn 1848-founded family estate in Wolxheim, Alsace, led by Bruno and Théo Schloegel, with biodynamic and organic farming, unploughed rows, dry Riesling Wolxheim and Pinot Noir.
- Rolly GassmannA Rorschwihr domaine making parcel-led Alsace wines, from floral Gewürztraminer to named-site Riesling, with long fermentations and lees ageing.
- SAS MAISON CHARLES FREYA Dambach-la-Ville family estate whose 20 hectares and nearly 100 parcels feed Alsace wines and a perfumed, dry orange wine.
- Vignoble du RêveurAn Alsace project from inherited, co-planted vineyards, where Mathieu Deiss and Emmanuelle Milan make whites and skin-macerated wines with native yeasts and no added sulfur dioxide.
- Vignoble Luc FallerAn 8.5-hectare family domaine in Itterswiller, Alsace, where Luc Faller has farmed organically and biodynamically since taking over in 1989.