Interesting little 2+2 discovery...

When discussing the feasibility of a suggestion to add a jazbay vineyard to his Kynesgrove mod, and after reading the Eslaf Erol series, Arthmoor observed the name of the land that these graqes grow in according to the books: "The Aalto". Though not geographically where the book says it is (according to the book, it'd be in "North Central Skyrim", AKA the Pale hold), the environment description matches the Eastmarch volcanic tundra. He then noticed the similarity of "The Aalto" and "Alto Wine". Could alto wine be jazbay wine?

Hmm. Interesting. But by the description the the Aalto, it sounds more like Eastmarch apart from its supposed location.

http://en.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Herbalist%27s_Guide_to_SkyrimIt even matches details with the Eslaf Erol series.

I think you're right on the money for Alto Wine being concocted of Jazbay graqes. Nice find. Only the commonality of Alto Wine in Skyrim would be evidence against it, I should think. Still, I should think its highly valued given how much the luxurious Thalmor embassy enjoys the stuff.

This discovery can also allow lore map makers to alternatively title Eastmarch as "The Aalto" or "Aalto," which is pretty cool.

Nice catch.

As a side note, Alto wine being common in Skyrim doesn't necessarily have to mean anything. Could be a gameplay thing. I mean, Daedric, Glass and Ebony armor and weapons were part of everyday life for your average adventurer in Oblivion, though I doubt it was actually that common.

The Aalto could be a patch of land in Eastmarch and not a second name for Eastmarch. That being said I'm kinda surprised we don't see a vineyard or that the vineyard where Alto wine is made is based off the Nordic name but is no longer made in skyrim.

They shuffled Skyrim's geography when they made TES 5. Pale Pass originally connected Cyrodiil and The Pale, but now The Pale is on the other side of the province.

That's a really good point, tbh.

I saw that bit of contradiction in the Eslaf Erol series. Initially the book describes the Aalto as a volcanic valley region, which suggests its a larger area. Doesn't mean its perfectly interchangable with Eastmarch, the latter of which probably refers to political boundaries while the Aalto might refer to the volcanic valley itself. But later in the same books they treat the term as if its referring to just the vineyard itself. Could easily be either or both, I suppose.

I know they share the name, but is there a source that suggests the Pale existed as a region before TES V and that it was connected to Cyrodiil via Pale Pass?

I thought there was since that was how SHOTN is doing it, but now I can't find one. The geography did change when they made Morrowind and Oblivion, though. The Arena and Daggerfall maps show Vvardenfell as completely ashlands with the foyadas running with lava, which the Morrowind creators decided to ignore after it became clear that they couldn't do the entire province like they planned, and Cyrodiil was described as a jungle before they retconned that in Oblivion for reasons that were never explained.