Vignoble et travail en cave - Conversion en agriculture biologique - Domaine Clément et Matthieu Weck - Gueberschwihr

In the vineyard

Without converting to organic production, Matthieu is very interested in it. He practices dose reduction to apply a minimum of treatment products in the vineyard.

His experiments even led him to use homeopathy, a technique that is unfortunately prohibited in France.

In 2010 he decided to work exclusively with organic products and abandoned insecticides.

In 2014 the total abandonment of insecticides is the subject of a village project which is a great moment for Gueberschwihr and for us too.

Our vines are worked in an artisanal way, we favour manual work to limit the passage of machines that damage and compact the soil.

The rows are 1.70m apart, one row out of two is grassed and mowed, the other is ploughed and worked by sowing green manure from time to time to stimulate life in the soil and bring nutrients to the vine.

The harvest, which is always done by hand, allows us to select the bunches of grapes in the best possible way and to obtain the best quality, while respecting the soil and avoiding subsidence.

The bunches are transported in bins of about 50kg, to respect the integrity of the grapes. However, some grapes are transported in skips, to practice a small maceration and extract certain aromas linked to the character of the grape variety.

In 2021, the decision was made to move to organic production.

In the cellar

Pressing

Pressing is provided by a pneumatic press, which delicately presses the grapes. This work lasts about 4 hours.

The extracted juice is placed in a stainless-steel tank and cooled to 5° C. It is then decanted for 48 hours to allow the particles in suspension (pulp, seeds and others) to settle.

The clear juice is pumped into another tank.

Fermentation

Fermentation in the vat or in the cask can then begin, which releases heat by transforming the sugar into alcohol.

All our vats are temperature-controlled, i.e., the control and regulation of the fermentation temperature is done via heat exchangers that convey water at 1°C.

Once fermentation is complete or the wine has reached equilibrium (i.e., a good balance between alcohol and unfermented sugar), the wine is cooled again, to calm the activity of the yeasts that settle at the bottom of the tank.

The wine is then pumped into another tank, where it remains until bottling.

Bottling

The bottling and labelling operations are carried out on site with our own equipment.

The geology of our vineyard

The geology of the Alsatian vineyard is a real mosaic, from granite to limestone, passing through clay, schist, sandstone; this great variety of soils, occupying an area of about 15500 hectares, is favourable to the blossoming of numerous grape varieties. The imprint of the terroir gives Alsace wines that extra bit of soul, a touch that is both singular and complex.

Gueberschwihr is located in the southern part of the Alsatian wine road and benefits from the proximity of the microclimate of Colmar (the city with the least rainfall in France). Our village is situated in the heart of an amphitheatre facing south/south-east with:

To the north: the Grand Cru Goldert and its marl-limestone-sandstone terroir made up of clay, limestone and sandstone. These deep soils are therefore fertile and have good water retention, the marl brings power, the limestone and sandstone are reduction factors. The wines take their time to harmonise these somewhat antagonistic components.
To the east: the marl-limestone terroirs: they are composed of thick deposits of clay (marl) and limestone pebbles that form a rock called conglomerate, which evolves slowly and is not very visible. The wines are generous and long in their youth, and age admirably with mineralisation.
To the south, the marl and sandstone terroirs: This is the sandstone variant of the marl and limestone terroir, this time the pebbles are sandstone. The marl gives the wine power while the sandstone lightens it. More generous than on an exclusively sandstone terroir, the wine's aromas are more complex than on a marl terroir.

The Goldert

The name "Goldert" can be explained by the golden colour of its wines, which are appreciated by gourmets; outside the borders too, their reputation placed them among the best in terms of quality, bouquet and strength.

As early as 750, the village of Gueberschwihr appeared to be a wine-producing area of great renown. From the Middle Ages to the Revolution, the bishoprics of Basel and Strasbourg, the parish of Gueberschwihr as well as abbeys near and far, owned vines at the place called Goldert.