With warm weather arriving, some of the most interesting, cooling wines are aromatic white wines that can be chilled without harming their perfumed excitement.

Most aromatic white wines can do this with ease. One of the best places to find these wines is one of France's finest wine-growing regions — and one of its least understood. It is Alsace, a region bordering on Germany with a populace as comfortable speaking German as French.

And its white wines are probably the most compatible with warm-weather days of any area in the world

The primary grape varieties of Alsace (almost all of them white) are Germanic in tone, with riesling, gewurztraminer and sylvaner at the top of the list, and pinot blanc and pinot gris adding depth.

The wine-making styles of Germany and Alsace, with approximately the same grapes, are poles apart. Germany prefers to balance some of the naturally high acids with residual sugar. Alsace traditionally looks upon these wines as foils for one of France's greatest regional cuisines and thus has kept most of its wines dry.

Author Hugh Johnson wrote in his book, "The World Atlas of Wine," "Instead of grape sugar lingering delicately in the wine, the (Alsace) grower likes a dry, firm, clean flavor ... "

This produces wines with the heft of white Burgundy, rich on the palate with 12.5% or even 13.5% alcohol. They are generally tart enough to cut through all the richness of pressed duck, foie gras, and the like.

Alsace wine always was seen as a bit of a learned experience because of its high acidity, but with food the wines were brilliant.

However, Alsace was one of the areas of France where the regulations pertaining to wine quality and style were not addressed until 50 years ago, long after other regions gained their official recognition. And this left Alsace in a sort of limbo state, style-wise, for years. The wines were variable in style.

Today, the pendulum has begun to swing back toward a classic style, and many of Alsace's top wines are again crisp and tart.

(A few of Alsace's best wines were always dessert-styled and called vendange tardive, made from late-harvested grapes).

One of the most important properties in all of Alsace is a house called Trimbach, which has seldom sacrificed its style and retained the classically made crisp whites with charm.

The archetypal Alsace white is gewurztraminer. Trimbach's version (roughly $28) is totally dry and is a definitive example of the regional paradigm. Rose petals with hints of carnations and gardenias mark the aroma.

Trimbach also makes other classically styled dry Alsace white wines that represent good value. But the company's greatest achievement remains its dry rieslings, two of which are typically expensive because of high demand.

I have always adored Alsace wines with food and recommend them when hearty food is on the table.

Dan Berger lives in Sonoma County, California, where he publishes "Vintage Experiences," a weekly wine newsletter. Write to him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dan Berger and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.

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