Nigel Lelew on Wine

So let there be no more confusion. Alsace is a narrow strip of land on the eastern border of France, loosely based around the city of Strasbourg.

Mid Sussex Citizen Star Wine Buy 1998 Tesco Alsace Gewürztraminer Tesco £6.29 Chill well and pull the cork on this gem of a wine from Alsace and enjoy its pleasures either on its own or with fish of almost any variety. This "Gewürz" has the classic fresh lychee aroma that comes through on the taste, with a dry, spicy taste to follow, which lingers long in the mouth.

The wines from Alsace do nothing to strengthen the region's allegiance to France either. Tall, narrowing bottles with gothic script on the labels, you could be forgiven for thinking that the wines were German in origin. No, they are quite definitely French!

So lets look at the wines that Alsace turns out. We've already said that they are different from the rest of France. The huge majority of Alsace wines are whites, and they tend to be single varietal whites too. California and Australia may have been credited with being the first to label their wines varietally, but in fact Alsace got there first.

Aromatic and spicy are two adjectives which people associate with Alsatian wines. This unmissable character is given to the wines from the particular grape varieties used by the winemakers of Alsace. The two predominant grapes are Riesling, (pronounced reece-ling, by the way, not rise-ling!), and Gewürztraminer, though Pinot Gris is equally revered but not widespread.

Riesling is not a grape that should be underestimated, and Rieslings from Alsace are definitely no exception. They are dry and acidic and while still young can be a little tough going. But age them in the bottle for a few years and they repay your patience with a rich, luscious oily wine. Believe me, if you haven't tasted an aged Alsace Riesling its time to miss out no longer!

Winemakers throughout the world nurture and harvest gewurtz, the short version of the name, but its home is in Alsace. The grape has a naturally high sugar content and so ripens to make big alcoholic wines. Its wines have a characteristic aroma of tropical fruit, especially lychee and mango. Take a glug of Gewurtz and a layer of spice is added to the tropical fruit to give a very distinctive taste, which people either love or hate. Luckily most people love it!

So forget all the Germanic links, Alsace is firmly in French ownership, (for now anyway!), and has a great deal to offer the world of wine. Its wines are often, quite wrongly, overlooked. Take the time and trouble to explore Alsace though, and you will find a treasury of aromas and tastes which are unique to the region.

One final tip. Chinese food is often hard to find a wine to partner it. Well, look no further, a well chilled bottle of Gewürztraminer, and a Chinese menu for two were almost made for each other!

If you have any comments or questions please e-mail me at nigel@vinrouge.co.uk