March means Women’s History Month which is why I invited the Winophiles group of wine writers to find women working sustainably in France for this month’s prompt; scroll down to see who is writing about what and the questions for our twitter chat Sat. March 18, 2023.

March also means celebrating the luck of the Irish with Friday March 17 St Patrick’s Day. While we’ve learned that corned beef and cabbage pair well with the white wines from Alsace  as well as similar white wines from Germany –see for example–

• A Story of Corned Beef and Cabbage: History, Wine Pairings, Recipes
• #ClinkDifferent: Try German Dry White Wines With Instant Pot Corned Beef, Cabbage for St. Patrick’s Day 
• Riesling Renaissance: Around the World With 5 Wines with Cheeses, Corned Beef #RieslingDay

…we decided we wanted to pair with Thai takeout these two white wines made by women working sustainably in Alsace.

 

Because some days that’s what you need– Thai takeout paired with a satisfyingly fresh and fruity wine like these from Alsace. So give Mom or the woman in your life kudos and a break this month! 

Did you know Alsace Rocks?

What makes Alsace special?

• To start, 35% of the vineyard area is already organic or in conversion, with 3% certified biodynamic. so even if it doesn’t say so on the label, there’s a good chance the wine is “green.” 
• The region only receives 20″ of rain on average area.
• Warm days and cool nights means slow ripening which equals complex, aromatic, balanced wines. 
• Vineyards grow on 13 different soils at 650-1300′– yep that’s lotsa rocks! 
• The region produces almost 90% white wines with 22% pinot blanc, 21% riesling, 19% Gewurztraminer, 16% Pinot Gris.
• The remaining 11% is Pinot Noir. 
• About 27% of production is sparkling. 

Sustainable Women Working In Wine: Alsace 

• 2017 Trimbach Gewurtztraminer
• 2020 Pierre Sparr Pinot Gris

Thai Takeout Menu 

• Satay Chicken
• Tom Yum Soup with Tofu 
• Crab Fried Rice
• Pumpkin Curry with Pork

2017 Trimbach Gewurtztraminer

ABV: 14%
SRP: $28
Grapes: Geuwurtztraminer
Sample for my review; imported by Esprit Du Vin (Taub Family) 

Appellation Asace Controlee

Maison Trimbach, founded in 1626 and located in Ribeauvillé since World War 1, grows many of their own grapes but also buys to make additional wines. Their 58 hectare of vines have been grown organically for over 1o years, while purchased grapes from over 35 partner winegrowers are HVE3 certified and in the process of Organic Certification for 2023. To promote biodiversity, they plant a hundred trees per year in our vineyard plus shrubs and bushes. Nesting boxes also preserve and promote biodiversity. Their flock of sheep maintains and enriches the soils. Most work is manual, and using tractors and horses. In the cellar, “The key words are: balance, purity, consistency and minerality. The objective is to bring out the terroir in each of our Alsace wines,” they write on their website. 

The Trimbach team today includes twelfth generation brothers, Pierre and Jean, and their children including Pierre’s daughters Anne who represents the estate globally and manages social media channels, her sister Frederique Trimbach who manages graphic arts and communication including labels, and their cousin Jean’s daughter Pauline Trimbach who handles wine sales in France. Anne-Catherine serves as Cellar master.

Appearance:  Gold jewelry, sparkling and shiny, platinum rim

Aroma: Beautiful florals, river rocks, meadow flowers, cardamon, coriander, clove, lemon grass, lemon verbena, 

Palate: White flowers up front, gardenia, chamomile, meadow grass, mid palate essence of white peach tea, then blood orange on the finish, the wine changes dramatically as it moves across the palate, this is not a sweet gewürztraminer, but there is an essence of sweetness. 

Pairing: The wine wasn’t great with our chicken satay. The peanut sauce was a bit too sweet for the wine and together they were just a bit too syrupy. The soup was also not a perfect match for this wine as it brought out a greasiness in the tofu and a sweetness in the broth. I loved the Crab fried rice with this wine while Sue on the other hand did not think it was an over the top pairing. It likes the sweet crab in the dish. The wine matched the pumpkin curry in both intensity of flavor and complexity. It is a good pairing. The sweet and the sweet worked as well as the spices in both the wine and the food. 

2020 Maison Pierre Sparr Pinot Gris

ABV: 14%
SRP: $21 
Grapes: Pinot Gris
Sample for my review;Imported by Wilson Daniels LLC.

Winemaking in the Sparr family goes back to 1680, but during WWII Sigolsheim and its vineyards were completely destroyed and required rebuilding by Pierre Sparr. “The meticulous care of the vineyards, a careful cultivation of the plants without chemical fertilization and limited yields, vouch for an outstanding grapes’ quality and the resulting wines,” they say. Cellar master Corinne Perez advocated for Pierre Sparr’s drive to HVE3 certification with the 2021 harvest following her arrival there in 2020.

Born in Lyon,  Corinne Perez studied agriculture in college where she fell in love with wine and winemaking. She’s made wine in France, Oregon, and Australia, and in 2003, began making wine in Alsace; she became head winemaker at Pierre Sparr in 2020. According to her bio, “Corinne was seduced by the finesse, elegance and purity of white wines, whose vinification leaves no room for error…Corinne thrives on the diverse aspects of being a winemaker, from collaborating with the cellar team, to blending, to monitoring vine and grape development in the summer and early fall, and even the endless analysis that is an integral part of winemaking.”

“Alsace is a paradise for an oenologist because you can produce a large range of white, red and sparkling wines; you can also make dry wines and sweet wines,” Corrine notes. “Alsace is one of the most complex vineyard regions in the world, where seven grape varieties combine with a wide range of soils, exposures and altitudes, which gives endless possibilities. Riesling is my favorite wine, the ideal varietal to reveal the potential of the terroir.”

Appearance:  Peach gold, sparkles in the light. 

Aroma: Smells like nectar, honeysuckle, nectarine, floral, ripe peach, fresh fennel, fennel pollen. 

Palate: Tropical fruit, fresh mango, juicy peach, fennel fronds, anise, black licorice on the finish, nice fuller body and mouthfeel for a white wine.

Pairing: This wine loves food. Whatever the satay was marinated in is fabulous with the wine; it likes the char and the kick of the peanut sauce. This wine with the chicken satay was the best wine to pair with the dish of all we tasted through this evening.

The Tom Yum soup with tofu was so fantastic with the wine which loves the spicy sweetness of the broth and the earthy richness of the mushrooms; both the soup and the wine bounced of each other bringing forth such fun flavors in both.

The crab fried rice and the wine are just allright together. they get along fine they don’t hate each other, basically they are just housemates without any chemistry. Our last pairing of pumpkin curry and the wine are great companions. They walk hand in hand together quite comfortably.

Find more wines by women working sustainably in France:

• “7 Generations of Women Providing Grand Vin De Bordeaux” by Wendy Klik on A Day in the Life on the Farm
• “Mas de Libian: The Commonality Between a Muslim Persian Poet, a Game of Boules, and a Wine Warning” by Culinary Cam 
• “Letting nature decide: A look at 3 women of Alsace and their biodynamic vineyards” by Linda Whipple at My Full Wine Glass 
• Here on Wine Predator, Sue and I share “Women Working Sustainably in Bordeaux + the Greedy Bats of Château Puyanché”
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No twitter chat this month.  

Happy St Patrick’s Day!