Some Alsatian grape varieties

Pinot Noir, originally from Burgundy, is probably the oldest grape variety imported into Alsace.

It likes chalky or sandy soils and requires low yields.

It is a grape variety with a very dark skin, but whose juice is white.

It can therefore be vinified :

• In white: as for our Crémant for example, when the pressing is done immediately after the harvest.
• In red: as for the Pinot Noir in our range.

The de-stemmed grapes are pressed 6 to 8 days after harvesting, which allows us to obtain fuller-bodied wines with red fruit aromas.

The wine is aged in small 225-litre oak barrels to develop a more complex structure and a more tannic character.

Originally from Austria (or Transylvania according to some), Sylvaner was introduced into Alsace at the end of the 18th century.

This variety is resistant, its vigour is average with regular yields and it matures rather late.

It is particularly successful in clay-limestone soils such as Zotzenberg, where it has obtained the exception: the Grand Cru appellation.

It produces a fruity, fresh and dry wine, very pleasant to drink.

Pinot Blanc, present in Alsace since the 16th century, is said to be a mutation of Pinot Noir.

This medium vigour grape variety is precocious and appreciates fertile limestone or silt soils.

Thanks to the growing success of Crémant, Pinot Blanc has developed a lot in Alsace (more than 20% of the surface area) in the last thirty years.

Our estate cultivates mainly the Auxerrois variety of the Pinot Blanc family, which is said to have originated in Lorraine.

Auxerrois has less acidity than Pinot Blanc and produces balanced wines, combining freshness and suppleness.

The King of Alsace Wines.

Riesling is considered one of the most prestigious white grape varieties in the world.

It originates from the Rhineland and has been present in Alsace since the 15th century.

It is of medium vigour and blooms late. It likes well exposed soils and not too heavy soils. Riesling produces dry, elegant, fine and racy wines.

Depending on the nature of the soil, it can develop very different aromas: fruity, floral or mineral.

Depending on the soil, it can develop very different aromas: fruity, floral or mineral.

Riesling is generally drunk young (less than three years). As it ages, it develops a more pronounced flinty mineral character, especially when it comes from limestone soil.

First mentioned in Alsace in 1523, there are several varieties of this grape.

In Alsace, Muscat d'Alsace à petits grains and Muscat Ottonel are grown.

The flowering of Muscat Ottonel is often capricious. Early, it is more exposed to the risk of coulure. When the night-time temperature is too cool, the flower "sinks" and does not develop into fruit.

Despite this disadvantage, Muscat Ottonel is the most widely grown grape variety, as it produces fruitier wines.

This grape variety appreciates sandy-loam or clay-limestone soils.

The wine it produces is dry, very fruity and aromatic.

It develops aromas of fresh fruit on the nose and palate and gives the impression of biting into a bunch of grapes.

This grape variety originates from Burgundy and was introduced in Alsace in the 17th century.

Pinot Gris is an early ripener and likes deep, rich soils. It is demanding and prefers the best exposed terroirs.

It produces powerful, full-bodied wines, which can be dry or more mellow. Depending on the vintage, the aromas it develops can be very different: smoky notes, citrus, dried fruit or undergrowth.

Some labels bear the name Tokay Pinot Gris. Indeed, this grape variety was called Tokay d'Alsace until 1984, then Tokay Pinot Gris. As of April 1st 2007, the Appellation Pinot Gris is the only one authorised.

The use of the name Tokay came from a legend. The Tokay plants were brought from Hungary to Alsace by Baron Lazare de Schwendi around 1565.

But the plants grown today are indeed from the Pinot family and have nothing to do with the Hungarian Tokay produced from the Furmint grape.

This grape variety comes from an aromatic selection of the pink Traminer, a grape variety from the South Tyrol in the North of Italy. Gewurz means spice in German.

Gewurztraminer appreciates marl-limestone or sandy-clay soils and the best exposure. It has an average yield, is early and can sometimes be susceptible to coulure in spring.

It produces powerful, rich wines with aromas of spices, flowers and exotic fruits.

This variety is also ideal for over-ripening: late harvesting or selection of noble grapes.

It was in 1742 that Heiligenstein acquired the right to plant Klevener on its own land.

The wine was so successful that other plots of Auboden were allocated to wine growing in 1753.

This decision contributed greatly to the enrichment of the village and of Strasbourg, for which the winegrowers paid a tithe for Klevener, which at that time was worth twice as much as any other grape variety in Alsace.

The grape variety that gave birth to this appellation is Savagin Rosé, i.e. Traminer (still called Rotedel or Edelrose).

It was therefore Ehrhardt Wantz (the Mayor) who was the first to plant this grape variety with high quality requirements, as did the mayors who succeeded him at the head of the commune until the recognition, by decree of 30 June 1971, of the controlled appellation ALSACE KLEVENER DE HEILIGENSTEIN.

The winegrowers of the region are very grateful to him for this. Better still, wishing that the testimony of this one be definitively inscribed in the minds, they raised a statue to her.

This is installed in a niche on the façade of the Town Hall.

The Klevener is distinguished by a beautiful aromatic complexity with wines that are on the whole quite full in the mouth with a marked sweetness.