Organic Alsace – Domaine Bader, Epfig
Alsace Climatology - Autumn & Winter 2023/24
Alsace vineyards are now bursting at the seams with all the shades of GREEN and new growth!
Since the last harvest, it has been raining in Alsace and at the Domaine Bader estate…
These past wet 6 months have enabled us to replenish our reserves, which were very low. Admittedly, this has complicated some of the work in the vineyards, but according to Pierre Scharsch it’s a minor inconvenience in view of the benefits that this water brings.
In terms of temperatures, they are very mild and vegetation is 2 weeks ahead of last year, which was not a late year.
The vegetative stage is already at the “unfurled leaves” stage.
The risk is that the vines will be very exposed to Spring frosts.
Work in the Vineyard
The pruning is finished. The vine tying will be done at the end of the week.
The accumulated rain has allowed the inter-row weeds to grow enormously. At Domaine Bader, Pierre no longer sows the vines with crop covers, so the weeds grow spontaneously and thus are local plants, adapted to both soil and climate.
Thanks to the good rainfall this winter, there is a great diversity of plants and flowers along the grass strips, which are richer in plantain, trefoil and vetch. These are varieties that weren’t present in previous years and which are very interesting for the balance of the micro-fauna and insects.
While Pierre won’t be touching the inter-row until the end of May – when it will be pressed to the ground – the cavaillon needs to be cleared to avoid invasive weeds. This is a very competitive area and the tall weeds could maintain a harmful moisture content on the first leaves of the vine.
Wines available
Part of the bottling took place over the winter, and the whole range is now available.
The latest addition is a dry Gewurztraminer vinified by skin contact maceration.
The range of Domaine Bader wines is organised around the 7 Alsatian grape varieties and Chardonnay:
- a Crémant
- a range of fruity wines with the 7 Alsacian grapes
- a range of Terroir wines, made from vines grown on the Fronholz hillside: single variety cuvées are made from Riesling, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay
