We are a family-owned independent wine estate totaling 9 hectares in the Alsace region. We are located in the town of Andlau, a place where grapes have been cultivated for more than a thousand years which was settled in the year 880 by a monastery of nuns. History of the company: The company was created in 1979 with a few vineyards coming from our pluriactive grandfather who was a shoemaker. This lack of an established and family-based wine making tradition initially presented a weakness because the whole business had to be built, but it is also a strength because the company wasn’t limited to traditional customs, and therefore has always been oriented toward innovation. In the vineyards. Concerned with the preservation of the environment, we have cultivated our lands in the organic way since 1998, with an objective of mixed cultures (vines, fruit trees for juice and spirits, grass for sheep). This allows us to generate organic wealth and ecological diversity in our soils, but also offers a diversified production. Our vineyard is settled on steep and rocky hills, our lands are left in grass to prevent soil erosion and to help maintain their natural fertility. The sheep we have introduced in our vineyard since 2004 enjoy this grass every autumn. Our vines are cultivated without cutting any leaf to preserve the plant and to create an expanded surface area to receive sunshine. In the aerial part of the plant, this vitality allows us to harvest fully ripened grapes, hence the natural fruity character of our wines. Under the ground, the descending sap nourishes the microbial life surrounding the roots. In addition to enriching the soil, proper functioning of these mycorrhizae allows us to offer well-structured wines, heavily influenced by the mineral soil of our different Terroirs. Thanks to the exceptional geological diversity found in our village (Sandstone, Granite, Shale, Limestone, etc …) we can introduce you to the influence of geology in the taste of wine, especially through our three Grands Crus. We have planted hundreds of trees nearby and in the vineyards to cultivate them in the agroforesterie way since 2011. This helps to curtail effects of climate warming through preserved freshness in our wines. In the cellar: We think that the quality of the wine is created by the work in the vineyard, the objective of the cellar work is solely its preservation. That’s why we disturb the wines as least as possible and do not add any oenological product to change the natural taste of our wines. Our production is partly vinified in inox tank and partly in old wooden casks. Furthermore, we produce some cuvées without sulfur addition since 2007. For a more complete description you can have a look at the report on our company in this independent english blog http://www.wineterroirs.com/2013/10/andre_durrmann_andlau_alsace.html