Alsace's vineyards run along the lower eastern slopes of the Vosges, which catch Atlantic rain; Colmar is one of the driest towns in France. Unlike most French appellations, the region labels its wines by grape variety, and it has its own traditional-method sparkling wine, Crémant d'Alsace.
Barred from Strasbourg after 1349, Alsatian Jews lived for centuries in villages and small towns, many of them in wine country, working in the cattle and cloth trades and in credit. Around 1790 some 22,500 Jews lived in Alsace, more than half of all the Jews in France at the time.
Kosher Alsace wines are made today, among them the Koenig range distributed by Royal Wine. Where a winery ferments in stainless steel rather than in old oak foudres, kashering the equipment is comparatively straightforward.
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