Organic Wine Journal » France

Champagne Fleury

Adam Morganstern — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 04:49:27 +0000

Here, where the Seine receives its first tributaries, are the limestone slopes of Southern Champagne called “Côte des Bar.” The Fleury family has been cultivating vineyards here for many generations.Emile, the grandfather, was the first to establish grafted Pinot noir in the area, after the invasion of phylloxera. His son Robert, as a pioneer in the Aube, released in 1929 his first bottles from his own harvest and aimed to produce a quality Champagne.Jean-Pierre wanted to be an astronomer. In 1962, he took on the family business, cultivating according to the chemical practices of the time. 1970 he discovered biodynamics, an alternative system of agriculture based on the alliance of he universe and the earth. He began ecological farming: mechanical weeding, organic contribution of manure. In 1989, the transition into biodynamics was done naturally, initially on a section, then on the whole estate in 1992. He thus became the biodynamically cultivating Champagne producer.The results could not wait. In 1993 Jean-Pierre was elected “winegrower of the year” by GaultMillau. Each year since, international recognition has been rewarded to some cuvées of the Champagne Fleury range : Silver medal at International Wine Challenge 2002 for Brut vintage 1996, Prix des Vinalies 2005 for Rosé brut, two stars “Coup de coeur” by Guide Hachette des Vins 2006 for Blanc de Blancs doux 1997.

Champagne David Léclapart

Adam Morganstern — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 04:48:59 +0000

Great-grandchild, grandchild and son of winegrowers, David Léclapart grew up with the rhythm of the vineyard and winemaking. After completing a non-winemaking curriculum, he graduated from the agro-biology school of Beaujeu and returned to his vineyard with the urge to learn, a passionate desire to work in harmony with nature and a vital need to respect life (from the vineyard to the glass). The biodynamic approach became his motto as he started to learn the hard work of winemaking. He experienced doubts and obstacles but remained focused on his mission. This farming philosophy enabled him to achieve and respect four principles: purity, energy, pleasure and ecology. Working his vineyard with biodynamic treatments gives it the opportunity to re-grow following the solar and natural forces, consequently offering you purity, energy and pleasure.David’s work in the cellars follows the same principles. He stays away from any enological technologies that would soil or harm the essence of his A.O.C. Only the combination of soil, climate, wine and workmanship stimulates his winegrower spirit. Today, David works on almost 3 hectares in monocru (Trépail, 1er cru); 90% of his vineyard is made of chardonnay grapes that are used to make his champagne and the rest is pinot noir grapes that David uses to make Coteau Champenois red or Champagne rosé from maceration.

Champagne Françoise Bedel et Fils

Adam Morganstern — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 04:48:35 +0000

Champagne Françoise Bedel’s founder was born in the small village of Crouttes sur Marnes’, the Champagne region. This Champagne house has been around for 2 generations, with the 3rd about to join. Champagne Bedel has 7 hectares under vine, with Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay grapes, accounting for 78%, 9% and 13% of planting respectively. Our Champagnes are produced from all three varieties.Life and respect of nature are essential values for Françoise Bedel, her family and her friends. In order to leave a sound and living domain for her children, she introduced biodynamic viticulture in 1998, allowing her to achieve harmony with her job and personal life.This viticulture method precludes the use of any synthetic chemical products (fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, or insecticides) and acknowledges the fact that the earth is a living organism. In this regard, our domain is considered a living body. Our goal is to make a well balanced, high quality and harmonious wines.The Champagne Françoise Bedel is domain produced, using traditional methods only, ranging from pressing of the grapes to ageing of the wines in cellars to manual remuage.

Domaine Marcel Deiss

Adam Morganstern — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 04:48:12 +0000

Domaine Marcel DEISS is located in Bergheim, a small village nested in the heart of the wine region of Alsace, equidistant from the northern and southern boundaries of the region. Current winemaker Jean-Michel DEISSwas born into a long-established family of wine growers, living at BERGHEIM since 1744. The domaine consists of 26 hectares (52 acres) of hillside vineyards spread over 9 communes and approximately 20 kilometers.The extreme variation in conditions of production at the domaine have led Jean-Michel DEISSto seek to express in each wine the three factors that make a wine complete : the grape variety, the vintage and the terroir.The greater the wine, the more the gustatory characteristics linked to the soil take the place of the typicity linked to grape variety or vintage.When speaking of terroir, the following have to be taken into consideration : geology, pedology, climate and microclimate, technical exploitation of the character of the soil, microfauna and flor, and the traditional methods and techniques used to produce wines.A fascination with medieval history and a desire to produce world class Vins de Garde were the impetus behind Jean-Michel DEISS’ quest for excellence from his Alsace vineyards. His commitment and personal integrity have led him to the conclusion that, as in most other parts of France, it is the dedicated nurturing of vines in specific terroirs which produces wines of unique distinction, originality, and authenticity.His efforts have focused on producing complexity and concentration, and the results fall into three broad categories:1) Vins de Fruits:varietally labelled wines from a single designated commune or village2) Vins de terroirs: field blends of varieties dominated by their terroir, site and soil specificity, which he refers to as his Premiers Crus and the AOC Grands Crus3) Vins de temps: classic late harvest wines with Vendange Tardive and Sélection de Grains Nobles designations

Domaine Zind Humbrecht

Adam Morganstern — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 04:47:51 +0000

Wine growers from father to son since 1620, the Humbrecht family cultivates and grow grapes in the great vineyards of Alsace in France. The Domaine Zind Humbrecht was created in 1959 and represent today a total of 40 ha, with the Grand Crus vineyards of Rangen in Thann (5.5ha), Goldert in Gueberschwihr (0.9ha), Hengst in Wintzenheim (1.4ha) and Brand in Turckheim (2.4ha), as well as the single vineyards of Rotenberg (1.8ha) and Clos Häuserer (1.2ha) in the village of Wintzenheim, Herrenweg (11.5ha), Clos Jebsal (1.3ha) and Heimbourg (4ha) located in Turckheim and Clos Windsbuhl (5.15ha) in Hunawihr. The character of single grand cru or single vineyard, through the typical Alsace grape varieties, is reinforced with biodynamic cultivation as well as a winemaking philosophy that respect the vineyard work. The respect of the soil’s natural life goes through the will of each of the 22 employees on the estate willing to accomplish a lot of manual tasks and perform the necessary ploughings and specific vine training, the reduction of machines weight (sometimes animal traction is used) and also the use of our compost produced on the estate. Ripe and concentrated grapes allow us to forbid any vinification techniques that would modify the initial harmony of each vineyard. Fermentations are very slow and the wines spend a minimum of 6 months on the total lees. Bottlings are done between 12 to 24 months after the harvest. The average yields are varying between 30 and 40 hl/ha according to the vintage. Annual production is between 13000 to 16000 cases. Since 1992, the cellars of Domaine Zind Humbrecht are located in the middle of the Herrenweg vineyard in Turckheim.

Martin Schaetzel

Adam Morganstern — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 04:47:28 +0000

Our objective in the vines is simple – to produce healthy grapes that reach optimum ripeness and are full of the original mineral elements characteristic of their terroir.To this end, we have been using a wholesome, balanced approach to the vineyards since 1980.Ploughing alternates with natural grass and weed growth, and the biological life of the soil is stimulated by the application of cow manure compost.The living soil encourages the vines’ roots to dig deep, eliminating the seasonal irregularities of their growing cycle. They are thus able to absorb the nutritious mineral elements required to manifest the true essence of their terroir, through a symbiotic association between their roots and mycorrhizae.Our vineyards are protected by the use of natural fungicides (sulphur and copper) to preserve a variety of indigenous yeast flora.Optimised vinification techniques enable us to convey the potential quality of the grapes right the way to the taster’s glass – tailored hand picking, gentle pressing for 6 to 8 hours, to limit trituration, spontaneous fermentation in oak barrels, racking in the spring followed by a maturing period on the lees until bottling.All the technical decisions made at Domaine Martin Schaetzel concentrate on a single objective – enhancing the original character of each terroir.

Marc Tempé

Adam Morganstern — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 04:47:00 +0000

From winegrower parents, we grew up in the middle of the vineyard and learned to appreciate it. Since we met more than 20 years ago, our dream has always been to produce our own wine one day. In addition to our daily jobs we have gradually acquired several wine plots. In 1993 we took over our parents’ vineyard. Being at last able to live our dream, we started by working on the vegetal material: ploughing between the vines, short pruning, and organical treatments. 1995 was a milestone year in establishing a winery: transforming the cellar, acquiring winemaking facilities. The decision to go to the biodynamic winemaking method became clear in 1996. We consider that this is the only way to create good wines.Our winery land includes about thirty plots located north-west of Colmar, around the villages of Zellenberg, Sigolsheim and Saint-Hippolyte. The size is 8 hectares including 1,22 hectares classified “Grands Crus”. The average yields are between 40-50 hl/ha. We produce around 45,000 bottles per year, split into three categories: fruit wines, terroir wines and Grands Crus. Our winemaking technique is guided by traditional principles: slow pressing using whole grape bunches, static washing, ageing during 12 to 24 months under the lees, in large berrels, in some cases, moderate filtering done before bottling. All our wines are made without external additives (yeast, sugar…). We use sulfur anhydride as moderately as possible during the bottling phase. Since we use a natural winemaking process with minimum intervening, our wines often contain a high proportion of carbon dioxide. We recommend decanting our wines prior to serving so they show at their best while lose their slight sparkling.

Domaine Kreyenweiss

Adam Morganstern — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 04:46:38 +0000

Marc Kreydenweiss was born in Strasbourg in 1948 from a family of viticulturists who have resided in Alsace for three centuries; he has owned and managed the family domaine since 1971.In 1984 he decides to dedicate himself to produce only wines of exceptional quality. He chooses a new way of expression for his wines: The terroir. The wines have the finesse that made up their reputation, while keeping their concentration, complexity and long finish.In 1989, always concerned about producing quality wines, the Domaine begins producing following the principles of biodynamic agriculture. Thanks to the effort and the homeopathic treatments, the soils are alive, balanced and produce healthy, quality grapes.Emmanuelle, Manfred and Marc work at the Domaine that has a total area of 12 hectares. All of them are motivated by the same philosophy, and each person has a role – a history experienced at the family level to offer you the best of themselves.Alsatian geology is complex. Rock formations go back to the Primary era (schist), Secondary (sandstone) and even pre-Cambrian (de Ville schist). Risings, faults and glaciations created very different types of terrains coexisting side by side: in Andlau, just a road separates the hard black schist of Kastelberg from the soils made of pink, fine sandstone of Wiebelsberg.The vine takes advantage of the mineral richness of these decomposing soils mainly due to the biodynamic techniques applied, and because these vines are old and their roots penetrate to the deepest parts of the soil.The Grand Crus optimize the originality of these soils. The grapes are harvested when they are over-ripe and the yields do not surpass the 30-40 hl per hectare.The common trait of the terroirs from Andlau is their great mineral richness – without limestone – that is expressed in the wines: subtle, delicate with a great deal of finesse.

Domaine Ostertag

Adam Morganstern — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 04:46:20 +0000

Domaine Ostertag is located in Alsace. It’s a family-owned property of 13 hectares spread out over more than 75 small plots of vines, united by one guiding spirit in 5 villages (Epfig, Nothalten, Itterswiller, Ribeauvillé, Albé).Domaine Ostertag produces 16 different wines classified in 3 different types: Vins de Fruit (Fruit wines), Vins de Pierre (Stone wines) and Vins de Temps (Time and Weather wines).What does Terroir truly mean, this wonderful word unique to the French language, untranslatable in some sense and so diversely understood?Terroir is perhaps nothing more that the earth and the sky which intermingles and displays themselves through the medium of a vine thanks to the enlightened acts of the dissolves. As only the spirit can bring light, the spirit of the winegrower of course, which in the end becomes the spirit of the wine. Terroir is thus not limited to the soil features, of the exposure, of the land, the geology or the slope. Terroir must above all be captured or, rather, tamed.For me, as a winegrower, a wine with Terroir is the wine of a flock of vines whose roots plunge as deep a deep can be and whose leaves cast a high as high can be, as far as the furthest source. And biodynamic by acting on the verticality of the plant and increasing its receptivity to subtle influences, probably reinforces the Terroir, but an enlarged Terroir, stretching form the centre of the earth to the outer reaches of the cosmos, and which the winegrower enlightens through his vision.”

Domaine André et Mireille Tissot

Adam Morganstern — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 04:45:58 +0000

Domaine André et Mireille Tissot was founded in 1962. It is now run by Stéphane Tissot and currently covers 32 hectares (79 acres) of vines in the Arbois and Côtes du Jura appellations. It has been run according to the principles of organic viticulture since 1999.Our plots of vines are located in renowned parts of the vineyards:- 4.50 hectares of “Bruyères”- 2 ha of “Mailloche”- 3.80 ha of “En spois”- 9.85 ha of “En Barberon”- 0.71 ha of “Clos de la tour de Curon”- 1 ha of “Corvées sous Curon”Vinification is carried out by plot selection, and most often involves a period in the barrel. Production encompasses different local chardonnay wines, savagnin, a variety of red grape varieties (poulsard, trousseau and pinot noir), together with “vin jaune” and “vin de paille”. Our annual production amounts to 130,000 bottles, most of which is bottled without filtering and with a minimum of sulphur.