THE ANDRÉ KLEINKNECHT ESTATE IN MITTELBERGHEIM IN ALSACE
It is in the Alsatian village of Mittelbergheim, classified among the most beautiful in France and which counts a good twenty winegrowers, that the Kleinknecht family has been working the land for many generations in the respect of nature and traditions.
Organic since 1998, André Kleinknecht decided to switch to biodynamic farming, following the precepts of his spiritual "guide" Rudolf Steiner, in 2012.
He took the opportunity to get away from the European organic labels and "their specifications too lax" for his taste "by dint of wanting to please as many people as possible" and affixed the DEMETER certification, more rigorous, in 2014.
His viticultural vision is to produce the best grapes possible through meticulous work by being present as close as possible to what is happening at the soil and plant level. And the appearance of horses on some parcels to avoid compressing the soil is another message sent in this sense.
André uses many decoctions of plants such as nettle, valerian, horsetail, dandelion or comfrey, always respecting the living.
Pierre Frick, the iconoclast in some ways, was a big influence. As such the wines are more left-field, dramatic and utterly compelling.
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This Pet Nat is fragrant, very much a wine you see coming. It's perfectly dry, which can sometimes be an issue with Pet Nat. A true fun wine, as it always should be. Well suited for heat waves!
Grapes: Gewürztraminer, muscat & Sylvaner
Aroma’s: grapefruit and mandarin