Domaine

Domaine Mittnacht Frères

Hunawihr, France

For three generations now the Mittnacht family has been crafting highly expressive wines right next to the fortified church at Hunawihr in Alsace. Grandfather Paul handed his know-how down to his two sons, André and Louis, who joined forces to create Domaine Mittnacht Frères in 1963. The Mittnacht family currently works 23 hectares of vineyard, covering the finest land in Hunawihr, Ribeauvillé and Mittelwihr : 309 ares of Lieu dit Muehlforst at Hunawihr 293 ares of Grand Cru Rosacker at Hunawihr 85 ares of Grand Cru Osterberg at Ribeauvillé 40 ares of Grand Cru Mandelberg at Mittelwihr/Beblenheim 40 ares of Clos Wilhelmine at Hunawihr - Monopole 30 ares of Clos La Courtille at Hunawihr - Monopole Average annual production at Domaine Mittnacht Frères is around 150,000 bottles. The estate exports 45% of its production to a wide range of countries in Europe, North America and Asia. Since 1995, Marc, 52, André's son, and Christophe, 50, Louis' son, who both hold degrees in oenology, have brought a new lease of life to the enterprise. For several years now the two cousins have been adopting an environmentally-friendly approach to their vines. No synthetic substances are used in the vineyards, and the utmost respect is shown to the natural cycle of the vines and their soil. Harvesting and sorting of the grapes is entirely manual, there is very little manipulation in the cellar, and no oenological products are used (except for a minimal dose of sulfites) in order to respect the grape's quality to the maximum. This philosophy quite naturally encouraged them to start applying biological and biodynamic methods to their estate in 1999. This approach respects the environment, the consumers' health, and, primarily, the personality and identity of the wines from the best official appellations. It is approved by Ecocert, the inspection body certified by the French Ministry of Agriculture. Christophe and Marc Mittnacht's wines are frequently mentioned in

Vigneron

Christophe Mittnacht

Site web

mittnachtfreres.fr/index.php/fr