Let me hasten to add that Alsace has never produced, and probably never will produce, a Schloss Johannisberger, a Berncasteler Doktor, a Scharzhofberger, or a Forster Jesuitengarten. From 1870 until 1918, Alsatian vintners, whose wines were unknown in what was then their native Germany, concentrated on the production of cheap, sound table wines. For the last thirty years they have been concentrating, with outstanding success, on the production of wines which are fine and yet in a middle-price class. Leaving the great estate-bottled Rhines and Moselles out of consideration, Alsatian wines since 1930 have been as good, as sound, as well made, and as fairly priced as their principal competitors, the German commercial wines—the Niersteiners, Laubenheimers, Hochheimers, and Liebfraumilchs which one could find in the average store or restaurant. Incidentally, this may be as good a time as any to repeat once more what many of us have learned: that Liebfraumilch can be excellent or fair or downright bad, since the name “Liebfraumilch” has no geographical or legal meaning whatsoever.
Alsatian wine names, on the other hand, mean a great deal, and Alsatian labels are about the most explicit of any now in circulation. In general, you have a right to expect on the label of a bottle of vin d'Alsace three things: a vintage year, the name of the town in which the wine was produced, and the grape variety of which it was made. A few vineyards, perhaps half a dozen in all, have acquired a special eminence, and wines from the Kaeferkopf (outside Ammerschwihr), like those of the Kanzlerberg (outside Bergheim) and of Clos Ste. Odile (near Barr), are sold under the name of their vineyard rather than under that of their village. But these are exceptions.
Here is a brief check list of the outstanding wine-producing villages of Alsace, with asterisks indicating my own evaluation of their respective excellence (no official classification exists). It goes without saying that poor wine can be made in the best of districts, but by and large wines bottled by producers in these towns will be better than wines produced or bottled elsewhere. The villages are listed from north to south.
Marlenheim—produces little white wine but a fresh and agreeable rosé, made from Pinot Noir grapes.
*Goxwiller—most of the vineyards of this little commune are a mile or so west of the village proper, and not far from Barr. Rieslings and Pinots Gris from Goxwiller are often remarkable.
**Barr—the best wine-producing commune in northern Alsace—celebrated for its Rieslings, its Traminers, and its Pinots Gris. Monsieur Hering of Barr is the dean of Alsatian wine-growers, and some of his best wines are really astonishing. Klipfel is another name to remember.
*Mittelbergheim—a very large production of wines of every category, from ordinary to very fine. Boeckel is the principal shipper.
Dambach—sound table wines for the most part; a few worthwhile exceptions.
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