CoolVines

Light and expressive, this Cremant from vigneron Vincent Sipp is crafted from fruit grown in and around his Grand Cru holdings. Elegant, fine bubbles highlight this fine sparkler.

For centuries this swath of land roughly 15 miles wide has been bandied about by conquering armies, spoils of war like any other. This violent fluctuation, as Jancis Robinson puts it, creates an ambivalence amongst the people towards their winemaking. Neither wholly German nor wholly French, but a blissful combination of both, the wines of Alsace when optimally realized are unique gems in the pantheon of wines. Varietals tend towards the Germanic types, while the winemaking sense is much more French in nature, veering more to a dry style. Unlike most of France, however, Alsace producers usually place the varietal name clearly on the front of their bottles.