Klevener de Heiligenstein

Last updated April 15, 2019

Klevener de Heiligenstein, also known in English by its German name, Heiligensteiner Klevener,^[1] is a designation used on Alsace wine made from pink-skinned Savagnin rose grapes, a variety in the Traminer family, but which is less aromatic than Gewürztraminer, which is widely planted in Alsace. The designation may be allowed for selected vineyards in the villages Bourgheim, Gertwiller, Goxwiller, Heiligenstein and Obernai but, under current appellation rules,^[2] the designation may be used until 2021 for specified existing vineyards outside the designation area. Since Savagnin rose is not a permitted variety for other Alsace wines, its replanting outside this area is not allowed.

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.

Gewürztraminer is an aromatic wine grape variety, used in white wines, and performs best in cooler climates. In English, it is sometimes referred to colloquially as Gewürz, and in French it is 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.

Bourgheim is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.

A varietal wine is a wine made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label. Examples of grape varieties commonly used in varietal wines are Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Merlot. Wines that display the name of two or more varieties on their label, such as a Chardonnay-Viognier, are blends and not varietal wines. The term is frequently misused in place of vine variety; the term variety refers to the vine or grape while varietal refers to the wine produced by a variety.

Wine labels are important sources of information for consumers since they tell the type and origin of the wine. The label is often the only resource a buyer has for evaluating the wine before purchasing it. Certain information is ordinarily included in the wine label, such as the country of origin, quality, type of wine, alcoholic degree, producer, bottler, or importer. In addition to these national labeling requirements producers may include their web site address and a QR Code with vintage specific information.

The appellation d'origine contrôlée is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, all under the auspices of the government bureau Institut national des appellations d'origine, now called Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO). It is based on the concept of terroir.

History

The Savagnin vine was introduced to the Alsace region in 1740 by Erhard Wantz, mayor of the village of Heiligenstein. Ampelographers believe that the cuttings that Wantz brought originated from vineyards planted in the Italian Alps near Chiavenna in Lombardy.^[3] In 1971,^[4] the Klevener de Heiligenstein designation was included in the AOC regulations for Alsace. It is not a separate appellation, but rather a designation within Alsace AOC which is defined both in terms of the grape variety and location within Alsace.^[2] This differs Klevener de Heiligenstein from the other varietal designations of Alsace AOC, which may be used in the entire region. Also, Savagnin rose grape is the only Alsatian grape variety which is restricted to a specific subregion of Alsace, i.e. to Heiligenstein and the specified areas of the surrounding villages cited above.^[5]

A plant cutting is a piece of a plant that is used in horticulture for vegetative (asexual) propagation. A piece of the stem or root of the source plant is placed in a suitable medium such as moist soil. If the conditions are suitable, the plant piece will begin to grow as a new plant independent of the parent, a process known as striking. A stem cutting produces new roots, and a root cutting produces new stems. Some plants can be grown from leaf pieces, called leaf cuttings, which produce both stems and roots. The scions used in grafting are also called cuttings.

Chiavenna is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Sondrio in the Italian region of Lombardy. It is the centre of the Alpine Valchiavenna region. The historic town is a member of the Cittaslow movement.

Lombardy is one of the twenty administrative regions of Italy, in the northwest of the country, with an area of 23,844 square kilometres (9,206 sq mi). About 10 million people, forming one-sixth of Italy's population, live in Lombardy and about a fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in the region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest regions in Europe. Milan, Lombardy's capital, is the second-largest city and the largest metropolitan area in Italy.

Relationship to Gewürztraminer

Gewurztraminer grapes. Savagnin Rose grapes are almost indistinguishable except for the translucent skin quality that the appear just prior to veraison . Gewurztraminer.jpg — Gewürztraminer grapes. Savagnin Rose grapes are almost indistinguishable except for the translucent skin quality that the appear just prior to *veraison* .

The vines of the Savagnin rose variety planted in Alsace bear striking similarities, morphologically, to Gewürztraminer vines and are almost indistinguishable on inspection. Outside of DNA testing and analysis of the wine that both grapes produce, the only noticeable difference is that just prior to veraison the grapes of Savagnin rose turn almost translucent while the skins of Gewürztraminer grapes are more opaque. While Gewürztraminer was present in Alsace since the Middle Ages, the 18th century introduction of Savagnin rose did cause some confusion among vineyards as to which variety they had planted. The most obvious way to distinguish the two was to compare the type of wines that each produces with Gewürztraminer wine being much more aromatic. Until the 1970s, winemakers would label wines of better quality "Gewürztraminer" and wines of lesser quality "Traminer" or "Klevener de Heiligenstein", regardless of the final composition of Gewürztraminer, Savagnin rose and/or Traminer in the wine. In 1973, the names Traminer and Savagnin Rose was discontinued from use on Alsatian wine labels. Due to the significant and early plantings of Savagnin rose in Heiligenstein and the villages around it, the wine style of "Klevener de Heiligenstein" was granted its place however.

Morphology is a branch of biology dealing with the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features.

In viticulture (grape-growing), veraison is the onset of ripening. The term is originally French, but has been adopted into English use. The official definition of veraison is "change of color of the grape berries". Veraison represents the transition from berry growth to berry ripening, and many changes in berry development occur at veraison.

Opacity is the measure of impenetrability to electromagnetic or other kinds of radiation, especially visible light. In radiative transfer, it describes the absorption and scattering of radiation in a medium, such as a plasma, dielectric, shielding material, glass, etc. An opaque object is neither transparent nor translucent. When light strikes an interface between two substances, in general some may be reflected, some absorbed, some scattered, and the rest transmitted. Reflection can be diffuse, for example light reflecting off a white wall, or specular, for example light reflecting off a mirror. An opaque substance transmits no light, and therefore reflects, scatters, or absorbs all of it. Both mirrors and carbon black are opaque. Opacity depends on the frequency of the light being considered. For instance, some kinds of glass, while transparent in the visual range, are largely opaque to ultraviolet light. More extreme frequency-dependence is visible in the absorption lines of cold gases. Opacity can be quantified in many ways; for example, see the article mathematical descriptions of opacity.

Wine style

Klevener de Heiligenstein does have some similarities to wines made from its cousin grape, Gewürztraminer. Both can produce dry wines with a slight spicy flavor that has the potential to age well, especially in favorable vintages. It is less aromatic than Gewürztraminer with higher acidity and lower alcohol levels. Some styles can show a slight buttery flavor.^[6] Outside of exceptional vintages, Klevener de Heiligenstein typically has delicate fruit flavors that start to fade after 2–4 years. The wine is not to be confused with other wine made from grape varieties named Klevner, such as Pinot blanc which have frequently been called Klevner in Alsace,^[5] although this use seems on the decline.

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; acids (sourness) and bitter tannins counteract it. These principles are outlined in the 1987 work by Émile Peynaud, The Taste of Wine.

Vintage, in winemaking, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product—wine. A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certain wines, it can denote quality, as in Port wine, where Port houses make and declare vintage Port in their best years. From this tradition, a common, though not strictly correct, usage applies the term to any wine that is perceived to be particularly old or of a particularly high quality.

Butter is a dairy product with high butterfat content which is solid when chilled and at room temperature in some regions, and liquid when warmed. It is made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk to separate the butterfat from the buttermilk. It is generally used as a spread on plain or toasted bread products and a condiment on cooked vegetables, as well as in cooking, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying. Butter consists of butterfat, milk proteins and water, and often added salt.

Related Research Articles

Pinot blanc is a white wine grape. It is a point genetic mutation of Pinot noir. Pinot noir is genetically unstable and will occasionally experience a point mutation in which a vine bears all black fruit except for one cane which produces white fruit.

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 grayish-blue fruit, accounting for its name but the grapes can have a brownish pink to black and even white appearance. The word pinot could have been given to it because the grapes grow in small pine cone-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.

Roussanne is a white wine grape grown originally in the Rhône wine region in France, where it is often blended with Marsanne. It is the only other white variety, besides Marsanne, allowed in the northern Rhône appellations of Crozes-Hermitage AOC, Hermitage AOC and Saint-Joseph AOC. In the southern Rhône appellation of Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC it is one of six white grapes allowed, where it may be blended into red wines. Roussanne is also planted in various wine-growing regions of the New World, such as California, Washington, Texas and Australia as well as European regions such as Crete, Tuscany and Spain.

Marsanne is a white wine grape, most commonly found in the Northern Rhône region. It is often blended with Roussanne. In Savoie the grape is known as grosse roussette. Outside France it is also grown in Switzerland, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States.

Grüner Veltliner is a white wine grape variety grown primarily in Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. The leaves of the grape vine are five-lobed with bunches that are long but compact, and deep green grapes that ripen in mid-late October in the Northern Hemisphere.

Vin jaune is a special and characteristic type of white wine made in the Jura region in eastern France. It is similar to dry fino Sherry and gets its character from being matured in a barrel under a film of yeast, known as the voile, on the wine's surface. Vin jaune shares many similarities with Sherry, including some aromas, but unlike Sherry, it is not a fortified wine. The wine is made from the Savagnin grape, with some of the most premium examples coming from the marl based vineyards in the Château-Chalon AOC. In other French wine regions, there has been experimentation in producing similar style wines from Chardonnay and other local grape varieties using cultured yeast such as the vin de voile wine produced in the Gaillac.

Arbois or Arbois Blanc is a white French wine grape variety planted primarily in the Loire regions. Despite being a minor grape, in the late 20th century it was the third most widely planted grape variety in the Loir-et-Cher département which includes the winemaking areas of Cheverny, Cour-Cheverny, Montrichard, Oisly, Saint-Romain-sur-Cher, Valençay as well as vineyards that make wines under the Touraine AOC, Cremant de Loire AOC and Vin de Pays du Loir et Cher. By 2004 acreage had steadily declined to around 750 acres. It is still a permitted grape variety in the Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) regions of Cheverny AOC, Valençay AOC and Vouvray AOC.

Sylvaner or Silvaner is a variety of white wine grape grown primarily in Alsace and Germany, where its official name is Grüner Silvaner. While the Alsatian versions have primarily been considered simpler wines, it was recently (2006) included among the varieties that can be used to produce Alsace Grand Cru wine together with the four 'noble grapes' of Alsace, although only in one vineyard, Zotzenberg.

Jura wine is French wine produced in the Jura département. Located between Burgundy and Switzerland, this cool climate wine region produces wines with some similarity to Burgundy and Swiss wine. Jura wines are distinctive and unusual wines, the most famous being vin jaune, which is made by a similar process to Sherry, developing under a flor-like strain of yeast. This is made from the local Savagnin grape variety. Other grape varieties include Poulsard, Trousseau, and Chardonnay. Other wine styles found in Jura includes a vin de paille made from Chardonnay, Poulsard and Savagnin, a sparkling Crémant du Jura made from slightly unripe Chardonnay grapes, and a vin de liqueur known as Macvin du Jura made by adding marc to halt fermentation. The French chemist Louis Pasteur was born and raised in the Jura region and owned a vineyard near Arbois that is still producing wine today under the management of Jura's largest wine firms: Henri-Maire.

Savagnin or Savagnin blanc is a variety of white wine grape with green-skinned berries. It is mostly grown in the Jura region of France, where it is made into Savagnin wine or the famous vin jaune and vin de paille.

French wine is produced all throughout France, in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France is one of the largest wine producers in the world. French wine traces its history to the 6th century BC, with many of France's regions dating their wine-making history to Roman times. The wines produced range from expensive wines sold internationally to modest wines usually only seen within France such as the Margnat wines were during the post war period.

Crémant d'Alsace is an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée for sparkling wines made in the Alsace wine region of France. Produced since 1900, the Crémant d'Alsace AOC was recognized in 1976 by the INAO and the designation Crémant regulated by the European Parliament in 1996.

Klevner or Clevner is a synonym for various grape varieties and wines, and is primarily used in German-speaking wine regions. The word derives from the Swiss version of the name of the Northern Italian town Chiavenna, Kleven, situated at the north end of Lake Como. Swiss mercenaries brought grapevines from that region back home across the Alps at the beginning of the 16th Century.

Savagnin Rose or Roter Traminer is a variety of wine grape. It has a pink, reddish or brownish red skin colour, but is counted as a "white wine grape" since it does not have the deep purple/blue/black colour of "red wine grapes".

Braquet is a red French wine grape variety grown predominantly in the Provence region of southeastern France, particularly in the Bellet Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) where it is as both a blending and varietal grape in still and rosé wines. Also known as Brachet, the vine produces naturally low yields and light bodied wines that are delicately perfumed. Recent thought among ampelographers is that Braquet is not related to the more aromatic Italian wine grape of the Piedmont region known as Brachetto.

Moselle wine Wikimedia disambiguation page

Moselle wine is produced in three countries along the Moselle river: France, Luxembourg and Germany. Moselle wines are mainly white and are made in some of the coldest climates used for commercial winemaking.

Musqué is a French term applied to certain varieties or clones of grapes used for making wine. The term means both perfumed ("musky") and Muscat-like, and indicates that the variety or clone is highly aromatic. The term musqué is usually suffixed to the name of certain grape varieties to indicate a clone with musqué properties, e.g. "Chardonnay musqué" or "Sauvignon blanc musqué". Such clones have arisen through mutation of a regular ("non-musqué") clone of the variety, and such mutations have been recorded for several different grape varieties.

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.

References

↑ Gewürztraminer | White Wines at www.whitewines.net, retrieved 14 Sep 2016.
1 2 INAO: AOC Alsace appellation regulations, updated until February 16, 2006
↑ J. Robinson (ed) "The Oxford Companion to Wine" Third Edition pg 382 Oxford University Press 2006 ISBN 0-19-860990-6
↑ Vins par régions/Alsace "Klevener de Heiligenstein Archived 2007-06-24 at Archive.is " (French) Accessed: Jan 2nd, 2008
1 2 T. Stevenson "The Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia" pg 194 Dorling Kindersley 2005 ISBN 0-7566-1324-8
↑ J. Robinson (ed) "The Oxford Companion to Wine" Third Edition pg 16 Oxford University Press 2006 ISBN 0-19-860990-6

Coordinates: 48°25′38″N7°27′32″E / 48.42722°N 7.45889°E / 48.42722; 7.45889

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.

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[1] Gewürztraminer | White Wines at www.whitewines.net, retrieved 14 Sep 2016.

[INAO_Alsace_AOC-2] 1 2 INAO: AOC Alsace appellation regulations, updated until February 16, 2006

[Oxford_pg_382-3] J. Robinson (ed) "The Oxford Companion to Wine" Third Edition pg 382 Oxford University Press 2006 ISBN 0-19-860990-6

[4] Vins par régions/Alsace "Klevener de Heiligenstein Archived 2007-06-24 at Archive.is " (French) Accessed: Jan 2nd, 2008

[Sotheby_pg_194-5] 1 2 T. Stevenson "The Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia" pg 194 Dorling Kindersley 2005 ISBN 0-7566-1324-8

[Oxford_pg_16-6] J. Robinson (ed) "The Oxford Companion to Wine" Third Edition pg 16 Oxford University Press 2006 ISBN 0-19-860990-6