Alsace
With a total surface area of 15,500 hectares, organic, organic dynamic or natural wines today represent more than 35% of the production of the Alsatian vineyard. It extends from the north to the south of Alsace, from Strasbourg to Mulhouse.
Seven grape varieties constitute the identity of Alsatian wines: Muscat, Sylvaner, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Riesling and Gewurtztraminer. All planted on a vineyard 120 km long and a few kilometers wide, on the side of the Vosges hills and divided into more than 51 Grand Cru Terroirs. Here production is divided as follows: 90% white wines and 10% red and rosé wines.
The summers are hot and the winters cold: the Vosges barrier protects the vineyard from oceanic influences and precipitation, which therefore allows the grapes a fair balance for maturation between freshness and aromatic complexity.
From a geological point of view, Alsace benefits from a true mosaic of terroirs: limestone, marl, granite and clay mix with terroirs of shale, sandstone and volcanic soil. Without forgetting the alluvium terroirs in the plains which explains the great complexity of this vineyard and particularly the large number of Alsatian terroirs raised to the rank of Grand Cru.
The most virtuous vineyard in France with more than a third of its surface area worked in organic, biodynamic or conversion agriculture, Alsace is experiencing a revival and is constantly evolving in these appellations as well as in the new generation of winegrowers who decided to work with natural wines. This young generation does not hesitate to explore new ways of working with their grapes, for example with white maceration wines as shown by the Domaine Einhart and its magnificent vintage “Muscana”: orange wines from Muscat or the Collective Pépin with their “Pépin Orange”, a collective of young natural wine growers set up under the aegis of the Dietrich brothers from the Achillea estate.
New arrivals in the world of natural wine are also starting to make a place and a name for themselves in this vineyard such as Yannick Meckert who, very inspired by the work as well as the philosophy of Jules Chauvet (Winemaker/Oenologist of Beaujolais who was a of the first to theorize and write about winemaking without sulphites) seeks to work as close as possible to the purity of the grapes. Or François and Justine Petit-Boxler who divide their time between their plots in Alsace and those in Champagne…
