In the pioneering gourmand circles that order two main courses at every dinner, there is a wise old saying about Alsatian food: it’s the one and only area in the world where you’ll get French food, but in German sized proportions. And oh, what food it is - let’s just start with some low-hanging fruit - tart flambee, the tart that’s bacon, onion and cream sauce. Follow that with a plate of Choucroute Garnie, which is basically four or five sausages (and bacon), boiled potatoes and smothered in onions. Maybe a little bit of a crayfish soup interlude? And then how about some Munster cheese to finish off the meal? Doesn’t this all just sound wonderfully hedonistic? The only thing that is missing is the wine! But the wine isn’t missing at all, it’s right here in the glass! Bold and pleasing aromas of yellow pear shine, reminiscent of a Poire Williams distilled in the Voges Mountains just behind Alsace. The character is supple and golden, smooth as freshly cut overripe Bosc pear, with just the loveliest of subtleties of texture and depth. There is a long tradition of blending grape varieties in Alsace, and Maurice Shceoch Cotes d’Ammerschwir follows suit. The wine is a blend of several different Alsatian varieties, with each individual part—Pinot Blanc, Gris, Muscat and Sylvaner—contributing to its complexity. This wine is perfect as a cocktail, sittitng out in the sun watching the clouds hanging on the top peaks of Vogues, but it is also perfect on a hike up into those very same mountains, served at a picnic underneath the pines. Ahh, if you can’t tell, I truly love Alsatian wines and their spirited, invigorating manner. But, as the years have gone by, I can say that most of the blends of the region - call them Gentils or Edelswickers or what you will - have gone up in price and down in quality. That was why, when Itasted Maurice Schoech’s blend, I fell in love all over again—the quality is beyond compare, and the price is more than reasonable for what is in the bottle. I say Maurice Scheoch, but the winery is now in the hands of his two sons. And while I couldn’t find out exact specifics about this wine, the name and the size of its vineyard holdings leads me to believe that it is a blend from their single vineyard (and mostly Grand Cru) vineyard sites from the hill side of Ammerschwir. It is also my understanding that it’s almost entirely Pinot Blanc, with little touches of the other grapes. One sip, and I believe your love affair with Alsace’s great white wines will be rekindled as well. Cheers, and let’s go find some bacon and sausage!
