Alsace

Primarily a white-wine region, with some red, rosé, sparkling and sweet wines also produced
Situated in eastern France on the river Rhine and borders Germany
Wine growing areas in Alsace is determined by two main factors, the Vosges Mountains in the west and the Rhine River in the east
Vosges Mountains tend to shelter Alsace from rain and maritime influence, and the region is therefore rather dry and sunny
Vineyards are concentrated in a narrow strip, running in a roughly north-south direction, on the lower eastern slopes of the Vosges
Grapes grown in Alsace include Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Pinot Gris (Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir, and Muscat to a lesser extent)
Most are dry and medium bodied, with some being ageworthy (smoky, honey, and petrol)
Almost all production in Alsace is of AOC wine, since there is no Vin de pays region which covers Alsace
There is a legal requirement for bottling Alsace wine in tall bottles commonly called flûtes (Bottle type is actually called Vin du Rhin, i.e., “Rhine wine bottle”, by AOC rules)

Wines produced under three different Appellation d’Origine Contrôlées (AOCs):
1. Alsace AOC for white, rosé and red wines
2. Alsace Grand Cru AOC for white wines from certain classified vineyards
3. Crémant d’Alsace AOC for sparkling wines

There are two late harvest classifications:
1. Vendange Tardive (VT): means “late harvest” (which in German would be Spätlese) VT, however, is more similar to Auslese in Germany
2. Sélection de Grains Nobles (SGN): means “selection of noble berries”, i.e. grapes affected by noble rot Similar to a German Beerenauslese

For both VT and SGN, Alsace wines tend to be higher in alcohol and therefore slightly lower in sugar than the corresponding German wines