Gewurztraminer Grand Cru

Elegant wine will delight slightly sweet wines lovers and will pair with lacquered duck, foie gras terrines and desserts made with shortbread pasta

The Lorentz family has been making wine since 1836 in the heart of the Alsace which lies in the northeast corner of France along the Rhine River. Charles Lorentz Sr. grandfather of the current president of Gustave Lorentz developed his vineyards on the hills of Altenberg de Bergheim in the foothills of the Vosges Mountains which has grown to 85 acres in this extraordinary terroir with four acres planted on the hills of the Grand Cru Kanzlerberg and 30 acres in the Grand Cru Altenberg de Bergheim.

The grapes come from the classified Grand Cru site of Altenberg de Bergheim with a predominance of heavy clay/limestone soil. The vines are very old – between 30 and 50 years – and they are the pride of Bergheim winegrowers as there have been vines there since the end of the 13th Century. They are hand-picked, usually in mid-October, with the whole grapes pressed.

The wine goes through two rackings, the first to separate the lees from the wine and the second to clarify the wine. It sits in vats for around 10-11 months prior to bottling.

The pressed juice is separated from the free-run juice and undergoes 12 to 24 hours of debourbage (settling), to eliminate impurities, which are then filtered out. Fermentation takes place, using a combination of natural and selected yeasts, in old oak vats.