A few kilometers south of Colmar, in the medieval wine village of Gueberschwihr, Domaine Gross has quietly transformed itself from a conventional Alsace estate into one of the region's most adventurous natural producers.
Backstory
Vincent Gross's grandfather, Louis, founded the farm at the end of the 1950s with just two hectares of vines. His father, Remy, took over in 1981. Vincent joined in 2006 and began applying the principles of biodynamics. Today father and son work the land together, the third and fourth generations of the family.
The Region
Gueberschwihr lies on the Alsace wine route at the foot of the Vosges. The estate covers around 10 hectares of vines on the hillsides above the village.
Vineyards and Farming
The family began farming organically and biodynamically from 2006 and earned organic certification in 2014. Work is done by hand with care, using plant preparations such as nettle and horsetail and biodynamic composts to feed the soil. Short winter pruning and a focus on preserving microbial life in the ground underpin the whole approach.
Winemaking
Vincent discovered skin-macerated orange wines at a tasting and made his first small batch in 2016. Demand grew quickly. His wines are made with native grapes, fermented spontaneously, left unfiltered and bottled without added sulfur, with no additions during the macerations.
The Wines
The range is built around generous, artifact-free wines that mirror the family itself. Skin-contact cuvees such as the Variation and Gold'R dry macerations sit alongside more classic Alsace bottlings, all aromatic and full of character.