Wine a Day

The Alsace region’s wine is not always for everyone’s taste. Often they are dry and acidic and not so well suited for afternoon sipping on a terrace in the sun. What they do offer though, is a fantastic option when dinning. The complexity of tastes from the best wines, from the best producers, in the region offer a very pleasurable accompaniment to meals ranging from hearty duck, to delicate pastry dishes.

This week’s wine of the week is one of the region’s staple wines. The Pinot Gris is one of the regions well known wines for good reason. The Metz Frères 2008 Pinot Gris is a good example of a great value wine for the region. For around €15 you get a very good product that goes very well with the local fair.

In the small tasting room in the centre of Ribeauville, the down to earth and unrushed atmosphere is a pleasure compared to many producers in the region. Metz Frères may not be the most famous producer in the region, the price-tag more than makes up for that.

For drinking, do not chill it too much. Just below room temperature is perfect to get the full flavor out of this wine – especially if you are sitting down to a pork and sauerkraut or duck dish, or as pictured in the background in this article is one of the local staple dishes, the Tarte d’oignon or Onion Pie. It is a pretty simple dish to make but matches the wine perfectly.

I challenge those of you who do not like the more delicate dry white wines to try this grape variety from the Alsace region. Sit down to a simple pork sausage, cabbage and potato, or an onion tart – there is a great recipe here – and open a bottle. It will not cost you a fortune and I am sure you will not be disappointed.