A Thai Green Curry Lesson + Willm Crémant d’Alsace Brut Rosé #Winophiles #Sponsored

This is a sponsored post written by me in conjunction with the June #Winophiles event.
Wine samples were provided for this post and this page may contain affiliate links.

This month the French Winophiles are exploring the wines of Alsace. And many thanks to Jill of for arranging samples through Teuwen Communications for the party as they represent Wines of Alsace and spearhead the month-long Alsace Rocks. Cheers!

If you are reading this soon enough, feel free to join our Twitter chat. We'll be meeting on Saturday, June 18th at 8am Pacific. Follow the hashtag #Winophiles and be sure to add that to anything you post so we can see it.

Here's the line-up of articles...

To Alsace

Alsace, due to its location on the border of Germany and France, has been subject to a series of political tug-of-wars for years and years. Here's what I mean: at the end of the Thirty Years' War, in the mid-17th century, Alsace was given to France. Nearly 250 years later, at the end of the Franco-Prussian War, Alsace was seized by Germany. Post-WWI, it was once again part of France...until 1940 when Germany reclaimed it. And, finally, with the end of WWII, Alsace became French again and has stayed so ever since. You can see the effects of this on-going conflict in the languages spoken, the architecture, the cuisine, and the wine.

from winefolly.com


This time, we were lucky enough to join a Crémant d’Alsace Webinar with Thierry Fritsch, Head Oenologist and Chief Wine Educator of Conseil Interprofessionnel des Vins d'Alsace (CIVA). He started off sharing the favorable climate of this northeastern part of France. Then he moved into some statistics, including that more than one-third of the vineyards are certified organic, certified biodynamic, or in conversion to one of those. There are seven main grape varieties in the region: Sylvaner, Muscat d’Alsace, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Pinot Gris, and Gewurtzraminer and nearly all of the wines from the region are white wines!

One of my favorite take-aways from the webinar: value! You can get "a really great Crémant d’Alsace for $30. You can get really crappy Champagne for $40." So true! I was fortunate to receive a few bottles of Crémant d’Alsace. The one I'm featuring today is...

Willm Crémant d’Alsace Brut Rosé

This is single varietal - 100% Pinot Noir - from Willm Estate in Barr, at the foot of the majestic Kirchberg de Barr Grand Cru vineyard. Interestingly enough Emile Willm, the estate's founder, was responsible for the first wines from Alsace to be exported to the United States in the early 1930s as soon as Prohibition ended. It is rumored that Al Capone enjoyed the Willm wines after his release from Alcatraz!

The Willm Rosé Brut is nicely textured and smooth on the palate, with a lively finish. TASTING NOTES: This wine shines with aromas and flavors of fresh, tangy, red fruits. Enjoy it with fresh salmon sashimi. (Tasted: July 15, 2021, San Francisco, CA)
WE90Wine Enthusiast
Notes of red-cheeked Cox’s Orange Pippin apple fill the nose on this wine with their freshness and juicy ripeness. Those notions also characterize the smooth, creamy and dry palate where apple mellowness gets the upper hand. A lovely notion of yeast provides an excellent backdrop for the fruit.

 

In 1896 the Willm family founded the Willm Estate in Barr, at the foot of the majestic Kirchberg de Barr Grand Cru vineyard. Willm has always been concerned with revealing the best of its terroirs and sharing its exceptional wines with the whole world. 

With its fairytale aesthetic, Germanic influence and strong emphasis on white wines, Alsace is one of France’s most unique viticultural regions. This hotly contested stretch of land running north to south on France’s northeastern border has spent much of its existence as German territory. Nestled in the rain shadow of the Vosges mountains, it is one of the driest regions of France but enjoys a long and cool growing season. Autumn humidity facilitates the development of “noble rot” for the production of late-picked sweet wines, Vendange Tardive and Sélection de Grains Nobles.

 

The best wines of Alsace can be described as aromatic and honeyed, even when completely dry. The region’s “noble” varieties, the only ones permitted within Alsace’s 51 Grands Crus vineyards, are Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Muscat, and Pinot Gris.

 

Riesling is Alsace’s main specialty. In its youth, Alsace Riesling is dry, fresh and floral, but develops complex mineral and flint character with age. Gewurztraminer is known for its signature spice and lychee aromatics, and is often utilized for late harvest wines. Pinot Gris is prized for its combination of crisp acidity and savory spice as well as ripe stone fruit flavors. Muscat, vinified dry, tastes of ripe green grapes and fresh rose petal.












Find the Sponsors...
 
Wines of Alsace on the web, on Facebook, on Pinterest, on Twitter

Alsace Rocks on the web

*Disclosure: I received sample wines for recipe development, pairing, and generating social media traction. My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the organizer and sponsors of this event.

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