Alsace is gaining ground in the US wine market, and Riesling remains one of the region’s most important tools for building recognition.

The latest figures from French Customs show that the United States is already Alsace’s No. 2 export market by value and No. 3 by volume. In the 12 months to June 2025, Alsace shipped almost 2.9 million bottles of still and sparkling wine to the US — around 241,000 cases. Export value increased 7.5%, while volume rose 8.1%.
For still wines alone, the US market represented approximately 1.5 million bottles, or 128,488 cases, with value up 5.9% and volume up 2.8%.
Those figures suggest that Alsace already has a significant foothold in America. The next challenge is turning that market presence into stronger consumer recognition — particularly for Riesling.
Riesling as the calling card
Riesling is one of Alsace’s signature varieties and was described by Wines of Alsace as the region’s “calling card” at its 2024 US trade programme. More than 100 US wine professionals attended the New York event, where around 150 wines from 30 Alsace producers were presented.
The positioning is distinctive. Alsace Riesling is strongly associated with freshness, acidity and dry, terroir-driven styles. That gives producers an opportunity to differentiate themselves from the broader Riesling category in the US.
The commercial challenge is recognition: American consumers may know Riesling as a grape, but they do not necessarily associate it with Alsace.
That leaves room for producers to build the regional identity alongside the variety.
Producers already building the market
Several leading Alsace estates already have established US distribution.
Domaine Zind-Humbrecht has been represented in the US by Kobrand Wine & Spirits since 2014. Its current US portfolio includes a substantial range of Rieslings, from Riesling Turckheim to Grand Cru bottlings including Rangen, Sommerberg and Wineck-Schlossberg.
Domaine Weinbach is imported by Vineyard Brands and has an extensive US Riesling portfolio, including Riesling Cuvée Colette, Riesling Clos des Capucins and Grand Cru Schlossberg.
Other producers featured in recent US trade activity include Trimbach, Hugel, Albert Boxler, Albert Mann, Josmeyer, Kuentz-Bas, Léon Beyer, Meyer-Fonné, Ostertag, Paul Blanck, Schlumberger and Valentin-Zusslin.
This is important: Alsace does not need to build a US market from zero. It already has producers, importers, distributors and sommeliers familiar with the category.
From specialist wine to wider consumer opportunity
The opportunity now is to move beyond the specialist audience.
Alsace has a useful commercial proposition for the American market: Riesling offers acidity and freshness, works across a wide range of foods and can be positioned at several price levels, from accessible regional wines to premium Grand Cru bottlings.
That creates a potential pathway from first purchase to premiumisation.
A consumer might begin with a straightforward Alsace Riesling and later trade up to an estate or Grand Cru wine. At the same time, producers can introduce that consumer to other Alsace varieties and styles.
The region’s broader US performance also suggests that consumers are responding to this diversity. Crémant d’Alsace alone reached 1.3 million bottles, or more than 112,000 cases, exported to the US in the 12 months to June 2025, with volume up 14.8% and value up 10%.
The opportunity ahead
For Alsace producers, the US is no longer simply a promising export destination. It is an established market that is showing measurable growth.
The challenge is to make that growth more visible at consumer level.
Riesling can play a central role because the grape is already understood by American wine drinkers. The opportunity is to make the next association equally clear:
With established producers such as Zind-Humbrecht, Weinbach and Trimbach already present, and a growing network of importers, distributors, restaurants and specialist retailers, Alsace has the infrastructure to expand further.
The numbers show that American demand is already moving in the right direction. The next stage is converting awareness of Riesling into recognition of Alsace Riesling — and turning that recognition into sustained sales growth.








