Hubert HARTMANN
Wine grower and Agricultural engineer I.N.A. P.-G. After graduating from the Institut National Agronomique Paris-Grignon in 1975, I chose deliberately to work overseas first in the fruit juice, later in the dairy industry. After 10 years overseas, including spells in Africa, and having last honed my skills in a Development Bank, I returned to Orschwihr to run the family estate following the death of both my brother and my father and I enjoy making the best possible wines ever since.

General policy of vine growing and wine making
The following guidelines have not been established ex-nihilo but they emerged after several years of reflexion and experimentation as a good compromise between the ideal world and what is feasible with the aim of a sustainable cultural system. They are now clear enough to be listed below.

We consider the grass growing between the vine rows to be a positive factor. This grass is regularly mown like a lawn. This favours microbiological live in the soil, enhances the humus content, reduces the packing due to the tractors and the washing away of the top soil on steep slopes. The grass also traps the nitrogen, specially the one formed in summer by decaying humus, avoiding it to be washed away or used by the vine. Residual herbicides are not used, to avoid polluting the soils and the water. The only herbicides allowed are those which decay as soon as they touch the soil. Limited use of fertiliser up to a maximum of 50 kg of nitrogen per ha per year. Potash, phosphates and magnesium are applied only when necessary. Toxic crop protection products are avoided. They are not good for the health of the people who use them and they are not good for the natural fauna of the vineyards. Crop yield objectives are of 65 hl/ha for Alsace AOC wines in average and 45 hl/ha for Grand Crus wines. These low yields allow for rich enough juice and the wines are not chaptalised. There is no addition of foreign products to better the wines except the SO2 which itself is very strictly controlled and unavoidable. SO2 levels in most wine are less than half what is allowed by current regulations. The residual sugar (unfermented sugar from the juice) is indicated on the label in grams per liter (g/l or per thousand). Thus you know how sweet or dry a wine will be before opening the bottle. Less than 5 g/l is considered dry. All labels except for Crémant are made of recycled paper and, from 2002 onwards, show the amount of residual sugar in the wine in g/l. so as to allow the customer to make a better informed choice.

History
The history of the Château d'Orschwihr goes back to the beginning of the Xl th century. Pope Léon IX of Eguisheim stayed here in 1049 during the consecration of the church of the next town. During the 13th century, the Château became property of the Habsburgs. In 1513, it was bought by the bishopric of Strasbourg, and later by local nobility. The current owners purchased it in 1854, after the revolution. In 1934, the whole castle was damaged by a fire. It was partially rebuilt in 1936. The view above dates from 1857, it is a lithography by Rothmuller.