“We have a real treasure under our feet here,” Christian Binner, an Alsatian natural-wine icon, nods with satisfaction as we observe the verdant vines running as far as the eye can see from his sun-laden deck. “I see Alsace as one of the historical terroirs for wine, a place where the vine is really happy to be. There’s an incredible diversity of soils, little rainfall, and low disease pressure, making it a great place for natural winemaking,” he continues. Indeed, this narrow strip of land between the Vosges Mountains and Germany is one of the leaders of organic viticulture (according to certain sources, 25% of the vineyard area in the region was either organic- or biodynamic-certified in 2019), but when Christian took over the family winery and did his first harvest in 1999, this revolution was only just unfolding. - Jenny & Francois
