Alsace: the region between two worlds
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Hello, Reader, Something a little different this week. We've spent time in the Rhône and Provence — big, warm southern wines, lavender and garrigue and rosé cold from the fridge. This week we're heading North, to a narrow strip of land between mountains and a river, where the wine is white, dry, and aromatic in a way that takes a moment to adjust to. Alsace. A region that has been French, German, French again, German again — traded back and forth four times since 1870 — and has, in the process, built something that belongs entirely to itself. The tall green bottles, the German grape names on French labels, the dry Riesling that smells almost sweet but isn't. The cuisine that makes wine a cooking ingredient as much as a drink. Today's post is on the blog now: Your Alsace Overview It covers the geography, the history in brief, the four noble grape varieties, and how to buy Alsatian wine without guessing. It also introduces the bottle we're working with all week — a dry Alsatian Riesling, available . Dry, mineral, the kind of wine that makes you pay attention. On Tuesday: two posts. The first untangles sweetness — why the Alsatian label system can be confusing and how to read it clearly. The second is a focused look at dry Riesling specifically: what it tastes like, why it works at the dinner table, why it's been underestimated for decades. On Thursday: Coq au Riesling, with fresh pasta. The same bottle in the pot and in the glass. The pairing logic that's been working in Alsace for a long time.
P.S. Our community, Expand Your Palate: One Sip at a Time, is where we share discoveries during the week. If you open something Alsatian — or if Riesling is entirely new to you — come tell us what you notice. Your Alsace Overview |