Alsace wines from green grapes such as Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Muscat, Sylvaner and others normally carries the grape variety on the label. But this presupposes that the wine is white. If the color deviates from the standard, it merely meets the requirements to be sold as Vin d'Alsace grape but without grape designation. Since some years, Domaine Loew makes a true rosé of Sylvaner by allowing the skins to be present during the fermentation. Then the alcohol out extracts red/blue colored anthocyanins from the skins, enough for the wine to be become discolored in the legal sense. 


Premieres Vendanges de Marguerite from Caroline and Etienne Loew in Westhoffen has a bright pale red color. The fragrance bursts with strawberry, raspberry and forest honey. The taste is light and tangy, with an acidity as of cranberries with a nice berry fruit, and a small roughness in the completely dry aftertaste. A wine that is not only made ​​of organic grapes, but is a genuine Vin Biologique that has been vinified with a minimum of intervention. Fun! Price (2014): € 8.90.

2011 Sylvaner Vieille Vigne, Bruno Sorg

Asia represents a huge market for wine. As the purchasing power is rising in countries like China and Vietnam, while Hong Kong (yes, I know it is a part of China ...) and Singapore will be – if possible – more open to western gastronomic influences, more wine will be consumed. In Singapore, Australian wines certainly dominates, but people like Etienne Hugel and Christian Beyer works intensively on the Asian markets. No wonder, for Alsace wines are versatile and can be combined with all kinds of Asian food. Rather neutral wines work best, for example those based on the too often neglected and overlooked Sylvaner.

2011 Sylvaner Vieille Vigne from Bruno Sorg in Eguisheim has a rich aroma of pineapple, chocolate and fresh, chopped oregano. The taste has significantly punch with generous fruit, vigorous acidity and a tiny, little hop-style bitterness in the balanced, almost dry aftertaste (vintage 2012 is bone dry). Perfect for a fish soup Laksa style. Ridiculously cheap. Price (2014): € 5.00.

2011 Sylvaner, Laurent Barth

It is a pity that many tourists visiting frown upon Sylvaner. Without even having tasted the wine, let alone enjoyed Sylvaner of high standards from an excellent producer. Unfortunately, the supply of such Sylvaner small because most are sold locally as "the daily bread". But when wine is created from ancient vines of a skilled, meticulous and passionate producer, then everything falls into place.

2011 Sylvaner from Laurent Barth in Bennwihr has straw yellow color. The aroma is clean, oily and mixed with lily of the valley, wax, apricot, butter and a splash vanilla. The palate is full bodied with ripe, dense fruit, lovely acidity and an elegant minerality in the delightful aftertaste. Masterfully done. Almost for free. Price € 6.50.

2007 Sylvaner Cuvée "Z", Eric Rominger

France has many acclaimed wines, and just too many who do not get the appreciation they deserve. This overlooked category includes many frech and mineral Muscadet, numerous Banyuls that is an excellent substitute for port wine, brilliant white Burgundies from Saint Aubin, healthy red Cabernet Franc wines from the Loire, and - not least - Sylvaner from Alsace.

2007 Sylvaner Cuvée "Z", Eric Rominger in Westhalten has grown in Grand Cru "Zinnkoeplé. The scent is developed, toasty and mixed with melon, coriander seed and smoke. The taste is big and powerful, full of energy and with a lovely balance between the sturdy acids and the dense, slightly oily aftertaste that is completely dry. Just what a Sylvaner should be. Price: € 11.

2005 Sylvaner Vielles Vignes, Paul Blanck

Sylvaner is a grape that unfortunately lacks clear markers. And today it is not enough to have qualities to sell. To do so consumers must also recognize the grape variety 99 times out of 100. Therefore, Alsace Sylvaner shows a lot of self-confidence simply by being itself. Blunt, strong and good.

2005 Sylvaner Vielles Vignes from Paul Blanck in Kientzheim has a slightly spicy aroma of bay leaves and coriander and a fruity character of apricot and peach. The taste is firm yet light and elegant, with generous acidity and good length. Ideal for food, no matter what kind. Price: € 10.

2007 Sylvaner Cuvée "Z", Eric Rominger

Tradition is great in Alsace, much stronger than the commercialism, opportunism and short-sightedness. Therefore, many producers cultivate "lesser" grapes in the best locations. Grand Cru Zinnkoepflé is ideal for the Sylvaner, and is highly valued in the twin villages Westhalten and Soultzmatt, which together with Mittelbergheim and some villages in northern Alsace (Westhoffen and Bergbieten) give great Sylvaner, by any standards.

2007 Sylvaner Cuvée "Z" has a dense but quite restrained aroma of peach, pineapple and wet wool. The taste is fruity, quite dry, medium-bodied with a typical bitterness in the long aftertaste. Price: € 11.

2007 Sylvaner, Domaine Weinbach (Faller)

At the foot of Grand Cru Schlossberg, surrounded by Clos des Capucins, matriarch Colette Faller along with daughters Laurence (wine-maker) and Catherine make world-class wines. Year after year Domain Weinbach rises above what other producers do the same terroirs, which proves the greatness of the domaine. The wines exhibit amazing depth and density, outstanding body and balance, and are sublime one the nose and on the palate. In addition, since a few years the tendency of Domaine Weinbach is to aim for more restrained residual sugar levels.

2007 Sylvaner has a broad aroma of crushed grapes, rye-bread, spices and citrus. The taste is compact, with strikingly rich fruitiness in a medium rich body. Firm acids gives both spine and freshness, enhanced by a trace of characteristic bitterness. Perfect partner to butter-fried scallops. Price: € 12.

2005 Sylvaner Rosenberg Vielle Vignes, Barmès Buecher

Even if Sylvaner lacks a 'fingerprint' charcteristic, on the nose as well as on the palate, this historic variety does indeed give harmonous wines with a wide use.

2005 Sylvaner Rosenberg Vielle Vignes by Barmès Buecher in Wettolsheim is a biodynamic wine made by one of the stars of Alsace, and offers warm plums, raspberries, toffee and vanilla on the nose. The taste is medium full with a bit of barrique feeling, fresh and complex with some pear and a trace of bitterness, while the finish offers surprising length and superb acids. Impressive! Price: € 8.