Hubert & Heidi Hausherr, along with their long-serving draft horse Skippy, are working just shy of four hectares of vines around the leafy medieval village of Eguisheim, Alsace.

In a region renowned for its diverse terroirs, the vines are dotted around in a number of small parcels over contrasting limestone marls and gréseux, the local compacted sandstone. These are beautiful vineyards with some of the vines planted by Hubert’s father back in the 1960s. 

As per tradition, many of these plantings are mixed, with varietals such as Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Auxerrois, Sylvaner and more all jumbled together, leading to many of the wines being harvested and vinified as field blends – multiple varietals expressing a single location.

Shadowed by the Vosges mountains to the west, despite its northerly position this is a very warm, dry microclimate with long, hot summers with little rain. The potential for high alcohol and a loss of balance in the wine requires careful vineyard work – the cooling marls are very useful for this, likewise big leafy canopies and a south-easterly aspect for morning sun and afternoon shade.

These glorious surroundings are undermined without respect for nature, so it follows that Hubert & Heidi are strong advocates for organic and biodynamic farming and are certified for both, as well as being part of the S.A.I.N.S. association for wine without additives. The soils are ploughed only by horse, and there are no inputs or manipulations in the cellar of any kind. They firmly believe this is the only way.