The right of spring

This is the time of year that I really enjoy Alsace wines. With clear aromatic style and enough weight to combine with food, Alsace can provide a range of flavours to suit the season. Alsace is an odd corner of north-east France making wines that don't fit into the usual pattern of French wines. For a start, the wines are routinely known by their grape variety and only sometimes by their vineyard. They come in tall green bottles which give them a Germanic appearance and some of the producers' names are so obviously non-French that most consumers think that they have wandered into the German section of the wine shop.

There are a lot of historical reasons for this crisis of identity, not least that this little strip of territory has been pulled across the France/Germany border more times than history can recall. Situated on a vital cross roads of Europe, armies have marched across it and claimed it as their own since Roman times. Tucked away behind a range of hills, it is separated from the rest of France, not only geographically but psychologically, too. Because of this, Alsace had developed its own style of wine as well as a different way of presenting them. Essentially, this is a white wine region, although they do grow a little Pinot Noir which is making increasingly good red wine, but the key grapes of Alsace are Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Riesling and Gewrztraminer. The general range of affordable Alsace wines is dry, although its clear, fresh acidity is sometimes off-set by a slight residual sweetness that just adds roundness and body rather than a sweet taste. Only when you climb to serious quality levels do the wines become obviously sweet, and even then, there are food combinations which still make these wines delicious.

The top end of Alsace is undeniably sweet with Vendange Tardive wines, picked when the grapes have shrivelled on the vines, producing some of the most intense, rapier-sharp, superbly balanced sweet wines in

the world.

The best place to start exploring Alsace is at one of the excellent co-operatives of the region. These are the power-houses of production, gathering grapes from all the small producers who don't have enough space, or indeed enough money to invest in their own winery. Co-operative is sometimes a dirty word in wine-making but in Alsace the major co-ops are at the top of the technical game and they make terrific wine, much of which is sold under own-labels to the major retailers.

The Cave de Turckheim, situated in a pretty village in the heart of the region, is one of my favourites, producing clear-flavoured wines at everyday prices and I just love the Gewrztraminer from here. Gewrztraminer is the most perplexing grape variety, smelling of spice, ros petals and adolescent's aftershave, and initially it is difficult to think of anything to drink it with.

The classic combinations are smoked salmon and smoked cheese but if you stir fry a few crisp vegetables, add a dash of sesame seed oil, a slice of ginger and a finely chopped chilli pepper then the whole flavour combination begins to sing. Gewrztraminer is also great with mild chilli sauces and light spices, so

this is the ideal wine to team up with Chinese food.

Marks and Spencer has its own label Cave de Turckheim Gewrztraminer 2008 at 7.99, while Waitrose has its own version, slightly different and with just another boost of spice at 8.49.

If you pay more, you will get more intensity and another layer of texture, such as in the crisp, ripe fruit of Gewrztraminer Reserve 2008 from Cave de Hunawihr (10.35, Halifax Wine, www.halifaxwinecompany.com) and particularly in Domaine Pfister Gewrztraminer Silberberg 2007 (16.99, Harrogate Fine Wine 01423 522270).

Last summer, I visited Domaine Pfister in the rolling hills of Dahlenheim, in the northern part of Alsace and was deeply impressed by the quality of the wines. Here Bordeaux-trained Melanie Pfister has recently taken over the winemaking and her no-chemical approach to viticulture and attention to detail produces wines with astonishing clarity of flavour. In this wine the spiciness of the grape is wrapped up in rose-petal complexity with rounded elegance and it is perfect with a plate of smoked salmon. Serve this as a starter to really get your dinner party started

The most famous grape variety of Alsace is its Riesling, and do not, under any circumstances confuse this with German Riesling. The grape variety is the same, but the level of intensity of flavour and the zesty balance makes them suited to totally different occasions.

Once again the Co-ops are a good place to get a taste for this minerally-backed floral grape and Waitrose's Cave de Beblenheim Grafenreben Riesling 2008 (8.49) has delicious light crisp flavours that make me think of white tree blossom in crisp morning sunshine.

Marks and Spencer source their Riesling from Turckheim and at a bargain price of 6.49 it provides all the right crisp floral notes and fresh, clean acidity. Alsace Riesling works tremendously well with fish, including prawns, calamari and sea bass so long as the accompanying sauces are not too dominant.

At the small family firm of Zinck, they are convinced that Riesling is the greatest grape variety in the world and while I have some sympathy for this view, we should be grateful that most of the drinking population does not agree. That's why the Zinck Riesling 2008 is just 7.99 at Majestic, and makes a good introduction to his range, but if you splash out on Riesling Grand Cru Eichberg 2008 (Majestic 12.99. or 11.99 on multibuy) you can taste fabulous petrol-scented smoky complexity, wrapped around a steely, minerally, lemon and pineapple wine.

For a real taste of how Alsace Riesling should taste, try the 2006 Riesling Classic from Marcel Deiss (15.65, Field and Fawcett, 01904 489073).

This producer works biodynamically and allows the wines to make themselves rather than imposing his own style. The result is a quirky, intense style of wine, vibrant with flavour and zingy with acidity on the finish. Wait for the first real day of sunshine and settle yourself in a chair and enjoy.