8th August 2024 | Pairings & Recipes | 5 minute read
White wine lovers, we’ve got some utterly irresistible Alsace wine and food pairings just for you. Whether you like yours clean and crisp or rich and characterful, the joy of indulging in a good white wine or sparkling is one of life’s great pleasures – and it’s made even better when accompanied by a plate of your favourite food. We take a look at the wonderful white wines of Alsace and perfect pairings for each style.
Alsace is a beautiful wine region known for its crisp, complex whites and quality Crémant. Located by the Vosges Mountains, it has a wine-growing area of rolling hills ranging from 170 to 550 metres in altitude, allowing for different grape varieties and wine styles to be produced.
As a cooler climate wine region, Alsace winemakers plant most of their vineyards facing south and south east to benefit from ample sunlight, giving their grapes the luxury of being able to ripen slowly and retain their acidity and elegant aromas. A mosaic of different soil types across the hills, from granite-rich to volcanic and sandstone, means each vineyard has its own unique terroir, contributing to why Alsace can master so many different styles of wine.
As a region where cold winters encourage pronounced acidity in its grapes, Alsace is very much an area of France that specialises in white wine production – both still and sparkling. In fact, around 90% of all grapes grown here are white, with varieties like Gewurztraminer, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Riesling and Muscat proving most popular.
Whether you’re into fragrant and light or rich and intensely fruity, there’s a white wine to please every palate. Alsace even has its own ‘traditional method’ sparkling wine known as Crémant d’Alsace that gives its famous French neighbours a real run for their money!
Thanks to the diverse range of white wine styles created in this region, you can have a lot of fun experimenting with Alsace wine and food pairings.
Although there is a wine style to complement most cuisines, we love how these super-chilled whites and sparkling delights can really complement lighter, more elegant dishes and allow the star ingredients to shine through. So, we’ve focused our pairing expertise on Alsace styles that suit seafood, salads, chicken, soft cheese and mild spice.
We all love a salad loaded with lots of fresh herbs. Elevate your dish by pairing it with an aromatic white that complements and enhances those herbal flavours, such as the Kuehn Alsace Muscat 2023. A light and bright Muscat with approachable yet complex aromas of elderflower, lemon and root ginger on a dry palate, this fresh and fragrant Alsace white is a great match.
Enjoy light, creamy French cheeses such as Brie and Camembert with a cool, crisp Crémant that’ll cut through the weighty texture and refresh your palate. An amazing value, traditionally made French fizz, the Kuehn Crémant d’Alsace Brut Cuvee Prestige NV offers bright citrus and apple notes on a fine, mouth-watering mousse, all underpinned by subtle nutty nuances that taste so delicious with creamy cheese.
Elegant wines and flavours of the sea are a match made in heaven. For shellfish to shine, it’s best to serve up a refreshing white that offers balance and finesse rather than big, bold flavours. The Domaine Schoffit Pinot Blanc Auxerrois Vieilles Vignes 2021 is a perfectly balanced blend of Pinot Blanc and Pinot Auxerrois that’s expertly crafted from grapes grown on 50-year-old vines. Lifted apricot aromas and subtle spiced smoke make this versatile white delicate yet complex enough to work wonders.
When it comes to meat dishes, chicken is a classic match for white wine. Although light and relatively mild in flavour compared to red meat, it’s a little bolder than seafood, meaning it can handle a richer white. The Preiss Zimmer Pinot Gris Sables et Galets 2021 is more expressive than a classic Pinot Grigio and it’s full of ripe stone fruits that complement chicken wonderfully. The smoky character makes it especially good with barbecued chicken.
Spicy stir-fries and zesty Asian dishes offer punchy aromatics and crunchy textures that work so well with a crisp white. When it comes to choosing an Alsace white, opt for one with a nose that’s as fragrant as the food. The Preiss Zimmer Gewurztraminer Sables et Galets 2021 displays perfumed notes of rose petal and grapefruit, followed by hints of sweet spice, making it ideal for pairing with your favourite noodle and rice dishes without overpowering them.
