We were on a French theme this week and we tasted some whites from Alsace.
This is mainly white wine territory, because of its northerly location, near the border with Germany. There is a Germanic influence here for sure with the tall Alsace flute style bottle and the classic old-style labels. It’s a region with a really interesting history where the territory changed from French to German control and vice-versa several times over. As such the wines are an interesting hybrid of French and German influence and have lots of style and interesting character to offer. I’m a big fan and generally think the wines are fab, but I have to admit I don’t drink them often enough. I’m too much of a red wine slave I guess.
Dietrich Gewurztraminer 2006 RRP 14.95
I love this style of wine and interestingly it’s a white wine made from red grapes!
Its from a wine co-operative, the Caves Dietrich, which produces good quality wines at fair prices. It has a lovely, intense golden colour and a really particular spicy aromatic nose which is pretty unmistakable (once you’ve tasted a few Gewurztraminer.)
A lot of people run the other way when faced with “Gewurz” as it’s so different to the zippy dry wine styles that are so popular at present. To me that’s completely missing the point and Gewurztraminer wines are truly “Alsace” in style. Great to drink on their own, wonderful in partnership with cheese and dishes from the local region and super with spicy Thai or Chinese dishes. I urge you to open your mind and give “Gewurz” a go!
Meyer Fonné Pinot Gris 2007 RRP 18.95
This is the same grape as the ever-popular Pinot Grigio but the Alsace style is quite a bit richer and more flavoursome. Meyer Fonné is a small family-run winery with a really excellent range of wines (we stock five in our shop) You’ll see the wines pop up in restaurants quite a bit, as sommeliers have long since recognised them as serious producers. Yellow gold in colour with a fresh slightly sweet nose of honey, apricots and smoke, this wine works a dream with chicken, pork and creamy pasta dishes.
You can listen to my weekly winespot every Wednesday morning at 10.30am on Country Mix 106.8fm.
No comments:
Post a Comment