Vendange tardive ("VT") means "late harvest" in French. The phrase refers to a style of dessert wine where the grapes are allowed to hang on the vine until they start to dehydrate. This process, called passerillage, concentrates the sugars in the juice and changes the flavours within it. The name is sometimes written as the plural form, vendanges tardives, referring to the fact that several runs through the vineyard are often necessary to produce such wines. In other countries such as Germany or Austria the term Spätlese is used to describe wine using the same making process.
Alsace wines were the first to be described as vendange tardive but the term is now used in other regions of France. Since 1984, the term has been legally defined in Alsace and may only be applied to wines that exceed a minimum must weight and pass blind tasting by the INAO. [1] Sélection de Grains Nobles ("SGN") is an even sweeter category, for grapes affected by noble rot. Vendange tardive is also an official wine designation in Luxembourg. [2]
The Alsatian wine producer Jean Hugel first described a wine as vendange tardive after the long hot summer of 1976. He drafted rules for vendange tardive wine that were eventually accepted by the INAO on 1 March 1984, [1] and known unofficially as Hugel's Law in recognition of his crusade.
The minimum sugar levels were increased in 2001. [1] The criteria are :
Between 1981 and 1989, the number of producers rose from 11 to over 500. [1]
The minimum sugar levels in the juice are a bit above those required for the German Auslese classification, but are routinely exceeded by good producers; on the other hand Alsace wines tend to be fermented more completely than those across the Rhine, reducing the amount of sugar in the final wine. Some vendange tardive wines are fairly dry, most are sweet but not cloyingly so; all are characterised by great richness. Sélection de Grains Nobles is roughly equivalent to the German Beerenauslese, with the honeyed flavours characteristic of noble rot.
Gewurztraminer is the most common variety used for vendange tardive wines, as it readily achieves high sugar levels; these are harder to attain with Riesling and Pinot gris, but with greater acidity to balance the sweetness, such wines can be very long-lived. Muscat vendange tardive wines are sometimes seen.
In Alsace, vendange tardive wines are drunk with foie gras or tarte Tatin.
Riesling is a white grape variety that originated in the Rhine region. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet, and sparkling white wines. Riesling wines are usually varietally pure and are seldom oaked. As of 2004, Riesling was estimated to be the world's 20th most grown variety at 48,700 hectares, but in terms of importance for quality wines, it is usually included in the "top three" white wine varieties together with Chardonnay and Sauvignon blanc. Riesling is a variety that is highly "terroir-expressive", meaning that the character of Riesling wines is greatly influenced by the wine's place of origin.
Gewürztraminer is an aromatic wine grape variety, used in white wines, and which performs best in cooler climates. In English, it is sometimes referred to colloquially as Gewürz. In English and French it is usually written Gewurztraminer. Gewürztraminer is a variety with a pink to red skin colour, which makes it a "white wine grape" as opposed to the blue to black-skinned varieties commonly referred to as "red wine grapes". The variety has high natural sugar and the wines are white and usually off-dry, with a flamboyant bouquet of lychees. Indeed, Gewürztraminer and lychees share the same aroma compounds. Dry Gewürztraminers may also have aromas of roses, passion fruit and floral notes. It is not uncommon to notice some spritz.
Pinot gris, pinot grigio, or Grauburgunder is a white wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. Thought to be a mutant clone of the pinot noir variety, it normally has a pinkish-gray hue, accounting for its name, but the colors can vary from blue-gray to pinkish-brown. The word pinot could have been given to it because the grapes grow in small pinecone-shaped clusters. The wines produced from this grape also vary in color from a deep golden yellow to copper and even a light shade of pink, and it is one of the more popular grapes for skin-contact wine.
The subjective sweetness of a wine is determined by the interaction of several factors, including the amount of sugar in the wine, but also the relative levels of alcohol, acids, and tannins. Sugars and alcohol enhance a wine's sweetness, while acids cause sourness and bitter tannins cause bitterness. These principles are outlined in the 1987 work by Émile Peynaud, The Taste of Wine.
Alsace wine or Alsatian wine is produced in the Alsace region in France and is primarily white wine. Because of its Germanic influence, it is the only Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée region in France to produce mostly varietal wines, typically from similar grape varieties to those used in German wine. Along with Austria and Germany, it produces some of the most noted dry Rieslings in the world as well as highly aromatic Gewürztraminer wines. Wines are produced under three different AOCs: Alsace AOC for white, rosé and red wines, Alsace Grand Cru AOC for white wines from certain classified vineyards and Crémant d'Alsace AOC for sparkling wines. Both dry and sweet white wines are produced.
Sélection de Grains Nobles (SGN) is French for "selection of noble berries" and refers to wines made from grapes affected by noble rot. SGN wines are sweet dessert wines with rich, concentrated flavours. Alsace wines were the first to be described as Sélection de Grains Nobles, with the legal definition introduced in 1984, but the term is also seen in some other wine regions France, such as Loire.
Luxembourgish wine is primarily produced in the southeastern part of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, with vineyards overlooking the river Moselle. Along this river, which for 42 km makes up part of the border between Luxembourg and Germany, wine is made in three countries. There is a continuous history of winemaking along Moselle and in Luxembourg going back to Ancient Roman times. Wine production in 2006/07 was 123,652 hectoliter from 1,237 hectares of vineyards. Out of total wine exports of 87,776 hectoliter in 2005/06, 71,726 hectoliter or 82% was exported to nearby Belgium. Exports to Germany were the second largest at 8,168 hectoliter, or 9%, and is to a large extent made up of base wine in bulk for the production of blended Sekt rather than being sold bottled with "Luxembourg" anywhere on the label. Therefore, very little Luxembourgish wine is seen outside Luxembourg and Belgium.
Hugel & Fils is a winery in Riquewihr, Alsace, France. Hugel & Fils is one of the major producers of Alsace wine, and has been an important force in the Alsace wine industry in its developments during the second half of the 20th century.
The wine region of Alsace produces wines under three different Appellations d'Origine Contrôlées (AOCs): Alsace AOC for white, rosé and red wines, Alsace Grand Cru AOC for white wines from certain classified vineyards and Crémant d'Alsace AOC for sparkling wines. This region is the only French wine region allowed to label its wines based on variety.
Marcel Deiss is a French wine grower and producer. It is based in Bergheim, in the Alsace wine region of France.
The Alsatian Grand Cru vineyard Schoenenbourg is situated north of the village Riquewihr. The vineyard faces south and south-east on the steep hill Schoenenbourg. The altitude of the vines are between 265 and 380 meters and covers 53.4 ha og Keuper subsoil with marl, gypsum and dolomite.
The Alsace Grand Cru Hengst, or Hengst, is a French wine originating in the commune of Wintzenheim, in the département of Haut-Rhin, in Alsace. While historically almost solely made up by white wines, a small amount of production is now Grand Cru red wine, solely from Pinot Noir grapes.
Alsace Grand Cru Altenberg de Bergheim, or Altenberg-de-Bergheim is a French white wine produced in the Altenberg lieu-dit, located in the commune of Bergheim, in the Haut-Rhin department, in Alsace.
Alsace Grand Cru Altenberg de Wolxheim, or altenberg-de-wolxheim is a French white wine produced in the Altenberg lieu-dit, located in the commune of Wolxheim, in the Haut-Rhin department, in Alsace.
Alsace Grand Cru Brand is a French white wine produced in the Haut-Rhin department, in Alsace.
Bruderthal is an Alsace Grand Cru French white wine from the village of Molsheim produced in the Bas-Rhin department, in Alsace.
Alsace Grand Cru Eichberg is a French white wine produced in the Haut-Rhin department, in Alsace. On the Alsace Wine Route, Eichberg is located six kilometres southwest of Colmar. In terms of the Alsace vineyards it lies between Pfersigberg to the north and Hatschbourg to the south. It is one of the fifty-one grands crus of the Alsace region, each enjoying its own appellation but sharing the same Alsace Grand Cru specifications.
Alsace Grand Cru ‘’Engelberg’’ is a French white wine produced in the Bas-Rhin department, in Alsace.
Alsace Grand Cru Floriment is a French white wine produced in the Haut-Rhin department, in Alsace. It is a part of the communes of Ingersheim and Katzenthal.