Appears in
Oxford Companion to Wine

By Jancis Robinson

Published 2006

  • About

Alsace, historically much-disputed region now on the eastern border of France, producing a unique style of largely varietal wine, about 90% of which is white. For much of its existence it has been the western German region Elsass. Because of its location it has been the subject of many a territorial dispute between France and Germany. Now separated from Germany by the river rhine, and from the rest of France by the Vosges mountains, the language and culture of Alsace owe much to both origins, but are at the same time unique. Many families speak Alsacien, a dialect peculiar to the region, quite different from either French or German.