Alsace Grand Cru facts

- 51 ’lieu dits’ (place names) are included in the Grand Cru denomination, covering 1,750 hectares

- 914 ha of GC is in production (compared to a total of 11,459 ha for Alsace and 3,162 ha for crémant)

- Grand Cru represents 4% of the production (45,000 hl of GC)

- Four grape varieties are permitted: riesling, muscat, gewurztraminer, and pinot gris (except for GC Zotzenbert and for blends from GC Altenberg de Bergheim where one can also use sylvaner)

- The wines must (in principle) be made from a single grape variety, except for GC Altenberg de Bergheim and GC Kaefferkopf where grape blends are permitted. However, in 2005 it become permitted not to specify the grape variety on the label which opened the door to
Currently France is undergoing a major overhaul of the regulations, for example changing AOC to AOP. This will lead to a complete review of these and other rules, but for another few years they are still valid.