Believe it or not, the Alsatians are trying to prevent other French regions using Riesling and Gewurztraminer on their labels.
The new European wine law, which will come into force on August 1, will allow vin de table growers to use varietal labelling for the first time. In France, Alsace has been the only region that labels its wines varietally. Now, Alsace producers are claiming their image will be cheapened by vin de table producers using ‘their’ grape varieties on the labels.
The Ministry of Agriculture has put together a group to look at their request but come on…you cannot be serious? The Alsatians want a 10-year grace period so that they don’t rely on varietal labelling and can improve the region’s image. Hate to say it, but shouldn’t they have thought about improving the image before? Perhaps making a style of wine that doesn’t have you wondering if the wine is sweet or dry when you pull the cork?
Ribeauville gets trendy
Which brings me to a tasting at Bibendum this week with Cave de Ribeauville. The co-operative has brought in Bordeaux consultant Denis Dubordieu to help them make a more modern, drier style of wine.
Philippe Dry, general manager and a friend of Denis told me: “We want to show we make fresh varietal wines that the UK likes. One of the main issues in Alsace is sweetness. We are now trying to make really dry Riesling that are approachable in youth as well.â€
The wines from the 2008 vintage are really clean, modern and dry with light body and well-integrated alcohol. However, with only 3.5g of sugar and total acidity of 10g (Ph 3.0) on the Riesling Prestige and similar figures on its other wines, I found the acidity a little too searing. I feel a trip to the dentist is imminent. Nevertheless, I like their direction and wines like this are what would give Alsace a better name – not banning others from using Riesling on the label!
