The Schoech family traces its roots in Ammerschwihr back to 1650. The current estate was established in 1971 on the edge of the village and is today run Maurice’s by his sons, Jean-Léon and Sebastien Schoech. The estate produces 25 different cuvées from 11 hectares of vines, mostly located on hillside sites. All of the parcels are in and around Ammerschwihr except for one small plot in the famed Rangen de Thann vineyard.
With a tiny winery located north of Colmar in the village of Bennwhir, Laurent Barth has been making wine since 2004, a few years after having taken over the property from his father. Prior to that point the estate’s grapes had been sold to the local coop. With just 3.5 hectares of vines (including tiny parcels of Grands Crus), Barth still manages to make 10 or more cuvées per vintage, from terroirs that range from alluvial to marl to limestone, sand, clay, and quartz.
The Biecher family has been making wine in Alsace since 1762. The cellar is in the village of Saint-Hippolyte, in the foothills of the Vosges Mountains. Jean Biecher is today the largest producer of organic wines in the region.
The Simonis Family has been farming in Ammerschwihr, just outside Colmar, since the early Seventeenth Century. Following his viticultural education in Beaune and several years apprenticing, Étienne Simonis took over the domaine from his father René in 1996. In 2000 he eliminated all chemical agriculture at the domaine, eventually receiving both Ecocert Organic and Demeter Biodynamic certifications. The domaine comprises 7 hectares in total, most in Ammerschwihr. The average vine age is 40 years, with some parcels dating to the 1950s and earlier
Nicolas Einhart’s family has been growing wine in Alsace for generations. Taking over the estate in 1990, Nicolas converted fully to Biodynamic practices, including creating wildlife zones on the uncultivated parts of the domaine. The traditional Alsace varietals are grown here – Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer, Sylvaner, Muscat, and Pinot Noir – but the focus at Domaine Einhart is on skin-contact “orange” wines. Nicolas believes the extra maceration time allows the property’s clay-limestone terroir to be more fully expressed through the finished wines.
Jean-Marie Bechtold is the fourth generation to steward this traditional domaine. He began working with his father in 1980 and took the reins in 1995. The estate is located in Dahlenheim, west of Strasbourg in the slopes of the Couronne d’Or. The only organic grower in Dahlenheim, Jean-Marie is currently making the conversion to biodynamic viticulture.