Riesling, 2021

Born into a family of winegrowers, Nicolas Einhart joined the family estate in 1990. In 1997 he was one of the founding members of the TIFLO association, whose main commitments are to maintain ecological refuge areas and to refuse the most harmful phytosanitary products. This dynamic naturally led Nicolas to convert his vineyard to organic farming in 2008 with a first production of AB certified grapes in 2011. The balance of biodiversity and the respect of the terroir are at the centre of his concerns. This respect for the terroir is achieved through reasoned pruning, respecting the flow of sap from the vine to guarantee a balanced vine throughout its life. Fabaceae and grasses are sown in the vines from seeds produced on the farm. These plants improve the life and structure of the soil, as well as providing organic nitrogen that can be easily assimilated by microorganisms. The use of herbal teas made from plants gathered by the family provides an alternative to treatments. The aim is to produce healthy and balanced grapes that reflect the clay-limestone terroir - muschelkalk and lettenkohle slab - in order to produce natural wines without any inputs. The winegrower also practices the regrafting of vines at the end of their life to give them back their youth and ensure the maintenance of the plant material of the plot. Nicolas chooses to produce free-range wines by maceration - also called "orange wine". The harvest is done entirely by hand, early and only in the morning to preserve the freshness of the grapes. The bunches are destemmed to keep only the berries. A slow fermentation of the berries in contact with their juice then begins. This operation is punctuated by light interventions such as punching down the cap by hand, allowing the must to be homogenised and new aromas to be extracted. This process reveals lively, powerful and expressive wines. Pressing must preserve the raw material as much as possible. This is achieved by gravity flowing the juice directly into the vat, limiting human intervention and exposure to the air. Each terroir is vinified separately in stainless steel vats, tuns or barrels. The wine is matured on its lees in order to complexify and sublimate the aromas present in the wine. In order to respect the aromatic profile and guarantee the authenticity of the wines, they are not filtered. This type of vinification highlights the terroir but also the work of the winemaker, who relies as much on experience as on instinct.