Eric Kamm took the reins of his family's Alsace estate and quietly turned it inside out, trading conventional cellar habits for organic vineyards and wines that let the granite of Dambach-la-Ville speak. The result is a small, surprising range of natural wines from one of the region's most storied villages.
Backstory
The Domaine Jean-Louis et Eric Kamm was founded in 1905 in the medieval, fortified village of Dambach-la-Ville. Eric took over the family domaine in 2005 and immediately began making changes, converting the vineyards to organic farming and developing wines that departed sharply from those of his father, Jean-Louis.
The Region
Dambach-la-Ville lies on the eastern slopes of the Vosges mountains in Alsace, an area renowned for its terroir and granite soils. The Kamm estate sits at the heart of the fortified town, surrounded by the steep, sun-facing hillsides that define the village.
Vineyards & Farming
The estate covers about 6.5 hectares planted on granite to Pinot Gris, Riesling, Auxerrois, Muscat, Gewurztraminer and a sizeable share of Pinot Noir. Eric farms organically, without herbicides, synthetic products or chemical fertilizers, working small yields out of respect for the soil and environment.
Winemaking
Eric seeks to let the terroir express itself, using the native yeasts present on the grape skins to start fermentation and keeping intervention to a minimum. From this he draws both a classic Alsace range and a distinct, successful line of natural wines.
The Wines
The portfolio spans the traditional Alsace varieties alongside more adventurous natural bottlings, including skin-contact and low-sulfur cuvees that show the granite-driven precision of Dambach-la-Ville.
