• VICTOR DE LA SERNA

    @vdelaserna

    Madrid

Friday, July 10, 2020 - 01:40

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  • Alsace. The route through the heart of Europe that any wine lover has to do
  • The Gastronomic. Read all the proposals of our expert Víctor de la Serna

Despite as much Alsatian history as we went through last week, the diseases of the vineyard (cryptogamic or the famous phylloxera of the 19th century), the wars and the ups and downs of the market have continued to mark this area: in 1828 there were 30,000 hectares of vineyard On this long but very narrow Alsatian strip, in 1948 there were only 8,000 left, and today there are 15,500 again , worked by 4,700 owners who produce more than 100 million liters of wine on average; 6% is just red wine, or better (in the eyes of a southern consumer) a delicate claret, born from the pinot noir grape. But this land is white, do not hesitate.

Compared to the rest of the French wine-growing areas, Alsace is distinguished by two characteristics: a semi-continental climate , thanks to the Vosges barrier (Colmar receives, incredibly, less rain than any other point in France, below 500 mm: ¡ less than the desert Languedoc!) and a wide variety of white grape varieties , which are generally made separately, although Jean-Michel Deiss has made assemblies fashionable.

With more heat and more dryness, the wines are quite different from those of the neighboring German Rhine: broad, aromatic, powerful, generally very dry . (At the end of the 20th century, the fantastic and very expensive liquors, late vendanges and selection of noble grains , cousins ​​of the Auslese and other German Trockenbeerenauslese ) also developed.

There are three denominations : of origin, always followed by the name of the grape caste: Alsace (generic), Alsace with a sub-denomination of a wine-growing municipality, and the recent and luxurious Alsace Grand Cru. These are produced in 52 vineyards of exceptional quality along our wine route. Grand Cru is only awarded to wines of four white varieties: Riesling (the Imperial Riesling, the noblest white grape in the world, with that tremendous density, that nose that oil , that ability of its best wines to age almost eternally), pinot gris, gewürztraminer and muscat (small grain muscat). Pinot blanc, auxerrois, klevener (savagnin rose) and sylvaner wines are also made with the other appellations, in addition to pinot noir reds.

Throughout the region, good inns and great restaurants multiply, which are fed by the wealthy German neighbors

Throughout the year the Bacchic festivities , always lively, follow each other along the route. Its climax comes with the Alsace Wine Fair, which is held in Colmar during the month of August. In 2020, we do not know ... But besides it there are many others. In addition, we must mention another one with a long tradition, that of the Saint Stephen's brotherhood ( confrérie Saint-Etienne ), which dates back to the 14th century , although it was only restored in 1947 after a long hiatus.

For months, a summary, which we hope will be worth in 2012: In April, Foire aux vins (Ammerschwihr). In May, Salon des vins (Molsheim), Foire écobiologique (Rouffach), Foire aux vins (Guebwiller). In June, Fête du vin (Voegtlinshoffen). In July: Nuit du Crémant (the sparkling Alsatian), in Orschwihr, Fête du vin (Wangen), Fête des caves coopératives (Pfaffenheim), Foire aux vins (Barr), Fête des vins (Ribeauvillé), Fête du vin (Kientzheim) , Fête du vin (Wettolsheim), Fête des vignerons (Eguisheim), Fête du vin (Turckheim). In August, Fête des Grands Crus du Zinnkoepflé (Soultzmatt), Fête du vin (Andlau), Fête régionale des vins d'Alsace (Colmar), Foire aux vins (Dambach-la-Ville), Foire au vins (Obernai), Fête du Klevener (Heiligenstein), Art, Artisanar et Riesling (Scherwiller), Fête de l'amitié, with open doors in Gueberschwihr. In September, Chapitre de la Confrérie des Hospitaliers and Fête de Sainte Richarde (Andlau), Fête du vin nouveau (Wuenheim). In October, Fête des vendanges (Barr) and Fête des vendanges (Obernai).

Throughout the region there are many good inns and great restaurants, which are largely nourished by the wealthy German neighbors, big customers where they exist. Taverns simplest are the ideal place to enjoy the classic dishes : the sauerkraut to the Alsatian (sauerkraut, which is sauerkraut, cooked with riesling, accompanied by smoked bacon, sausages land and other equally meats blunt) , the baeckeoffa (very powerful stew) or the kugelhopf (typical light sponge cake). But this is also the land of the Haeberlin family, of the mythical Auberge de l'Ill , one of the cradles of modern European cuisine in the 1960s ...

The great Alsace wine producers are numerous, although in recent years we have regretted the disappearance of true geniuses of viticulture and winemaking, such as, in 2015, Colette Faller , the great female pioneer in a profession then dominated by men, and also, at just 47 years old, from his daughter and winemaker Laurence. Jean Meyer , the giant of Josmeyer, also left us .

But the wine estates continue with their cellars. There is Trimbach , with its rectilinear wines that reflect the terroir, suitable for aging, it is the favorite of European fans; Zind-Humbrecht , with its most spectacular wines, with a touch of residual sugar, excites the Americans, led years ago by the critic Robert Parker (whose successors in the publication The Wine Advocate have, incidentally, been forgetting to taste Alsace for six years ); the Faller family (now Catherine and her son Théo), with their powerful and uncomplicated wines.

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