An Interview with Crémant d’Alsace – Gustave Lorentz

How important is it to be fully organic in today’s world of wine making?

The first reason why we at Gustave Lorentz wanted to move organic was to produce a better wine harvesting less grapes, but with more personality/quality!

In today’s’ world you have only a few markets which are really into organic wines and it is good to be able to supply them; most importantly, we think that more and more organic products will be sold in the future and organic wine is the future!

Having said this, a wine should be good before anything else; fully organic does not always mean a better wine! At the other end, the organic certification may vary from Europe to USA to other wine producing countries and therefore, the consumer may be lost with different organic rules depending on the origin of the wine.

Champagne has a growing reputation now for pairing with fine foods, has Crémant D’Alsace the same qualities to be enjoyed with special dishes?

Our Crémant d’Alsace white is mostly served as an apéritif/celebration wine but we can easily pair it as well with any kind of oyster, shellfish or raw fish starters without any problem. When it comes to our Pinot Noir Rosé, you can easily consider it with a red fruit based dessert… It will refresh your palate after a nice lunch or dinner.

How important is it to embrace technology in winemaking or is it more important to stick to traditional winemaking methods? Have you found the perfect balance for your winery?

All I can tell you is that we have invested 6 million euros in 2015 to build one of the most modern cellars in Alsace. We have now the latest technology available, but we kept the traditional centennial wooden vats in which our best wine are fermenting and maturing. I think that we have a perfect balance between tradition and technology nowadays at GL.

Here are a few pictures:

What does Crémant D’Alsace offer the world of sparkling wine – Why should consumers experience it?

Crémant d’Alsace is the first Crémant of France sold in France with the largest market share. Its sales at export markets are continuously improving.

These exciting results can be explained because of a wonderful ratio price/quality offered by the Crémant d’Alsace. I remind readers that a Crémant is made exactly the same way as a Champagne, except that we do not have any Pinot Meunier in Alsace. The minimum ageing on lees is one year, but the qualitative producers are waiting a minimum of 2 or 3 years which is equivalent to some Champagne. The markets are loaded with a lot of Prosecco and Cava, but when anybody wants to trade up without moving to Champagne then Crémant d’Alsace is an exciting option and at the other end, people who are not willing to pay for a Champagne, but still want a good qualitative French sparkling wine, then our Crémant d’Alsace is again an exciting choice…

 

Christopher Walkey interviewed Pascal Schiele of Gustave Lorentz.