Vinification

While we do enjoy very much to work the vineyard ourselves, vinification is out of our reach.

We are so fortunate to see Corinne Kox from Domaine L&R Kox in Remich produce our wines from our grapes separately from the own grapes of Domaine L&R Kox.

The Domaine L & R Kox is well established and reputed yet very innovative since almost a century. Corinne one of the most gifted winemakers in Luxembourg s now at the helm of the Domaine.

Corine and we have the same ideas about terroir being more than soil. Terroir is the whole biotope with a healthy soil, biodiversity, ecological practices and polyculture. Corinne's inspirational Orchard Project stands out in this respect.

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Wild Yeast

Our wines are produced with the yeast naturally present in our vineyard. This is very different from the prevailing practice in commercial winemaking of using inoculated cultured yeast.

The advage of inoculated cultured yeast is predictability. Predictability in terms of quick and dependable fermentation outcompeting the wild yeast for a wine that has year after year the same overall taste and quality with a higher alcohol content.

For large scale commercial winemaking this approach is absolutely justified. We are not engaged in large commercial winemaking and hence we can and are willing to take the risk of wild yeast.

The quality of the yeast naturally present in our vineyard may vary considerably depending on various factors but it appears to be obvious that biodiversity, healthy soils and - more generally - a healthy biotop enhances yeast quality. At the end of the day though the skills of the winemaker are decisive and that is why we are so happy that Corinne Kox takes care of our vinification.

Steel or Oak?

We have wine aged in steel and wine aged in oak. What is the difference?

Aged in Steel

Stainless steel tanks provide an airtight environment, minimising oxygen exposure during aging.

This helps preserve the wine's freshness, vibrant fruit flavours and natural acidity. Unlike oak barrels, stainless steel tanks do not impart any flavour or aromas to the wine.

You have pure Pinot Noir.

Aged in Oak

Oak aging allows for an extremely slow integration of oxygen and flavours coming from the oak. This process provides for a more complex product with a multilayered aroma and better aging potential.

The barrels used for our wine are not new barrels but they have already been used for a year or two. We want to avoid that the taste of the barrel overpowers our wine.

In addition we offer wine aged in oak with no added sulphites.

There is a lot of confusion in this context. One sees on the market "natural wines", "bio wines", "organic wines", "no sulphite wines" and many more.

First of all there is always a tiny amount of sulphite in any wine because sulphur is a natural by-product of the fermentation process. Hence you will always see on the wine label "contains sulphites.

Wine with the mention "no added sulphites" is subject to strict legal rules on maximum sulphites contents which is extremely low. If the sulphites content (naturally present sulphites and possibly added sulphites if there is still room to for it) is below such limit, it can be labelled "no added sulphites".

Wines labelled "organic" are as well low in permitted sulphites content but the permitted maximum is the double of "no added sulphites" wines. "Organic" wines have though in turn a much lower permitted maximum sulphites content than classic wines. This being said, every winemaker can always remain largely below the permitted maximum.

For the purpose of completeness, there are as well wines with indeed no sulphites other than what is naturally present. They tend, however, to be be very unstable and there is a real risk that fermentation may start again. Hence we have not chosen this path.

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