After a dry winter and a warm, dry spring, bud break in Alsace came early in 2011. Flowering followed suit in the midst of record high temperatures, and a potentially large crop was set. From June on however, normal conditions returned, and moderate rains replenished the dry soils. Ripening continued steadily through the summer, and cooler temperatures in August helped keep acidity fresh and sugars in check. It was an early harvest with most sites beginning in the first week of September and many concluding before the end of the month.

Overall, 2011 brought a large crop with good to very good wines that are somewhat round and forward, and should be enjoyable early on in their lives.