Meet the producer : Olivier Humbrecht MW

Was winemaking an obvious path for you, coming from a winegrowing lineage dating back to 1620?

It's almost impossible to answer that question when you're born into a winemaking family that goes back nearly 400 years! I'd say it's a constant immersion in every aspect of a small independent estate's work. After my engineering studies in agriculture and oenology in Toulouse, I had the opportunity to work in California and Oregon. But I knew I would return. In 1989, I joined my father at the estate, and the same year, I earned my Master of Wine title. My father entrusted me with that vintage, which turned out to be exceptional.

The 1986 vintage seems to have been a decisive turning point for Zind-Humbrecht...

Absolutely. 1986 is memorable because it's a pivot point for our wines. It's the first vintage where we used our new Bucher pneumatic press to press our entire crop as whole clusters, working by gravity in a new extension to our Wintzenheim winery. It's also the first vintage that the estate produced Sélections de Grains Nobles. And it was an excellent vintage! We then moved to our current cellar in 1992, in the heart of the Herrenweg vineyards.

Your conversion to biodynamics has an... unusual origin. Can you tell us this story?

[Laughs] Yes, it was "a question of shit," as I say. I was looking for a local source of fertilizer and bought manure from local farms. But I found that this dung refused to break down. Even after the first year, "it still smelt like a septic tank." I had samples analyzed in a lab and found eight different antibiotics in the manure, which were causing the problem.

The next year I went to an organic farm, and the compost was really good. When I returned the following year, it turned out the farmer worked biodynamically. This piqued my interest, so I prepared some experiments. I discovered that the compost prepared using biodynamic processes contained many more microorganisms and many more worms.

How did this discovery transform your approach to viticulture?

It made me understand viticulture and vinification differently. Cultivating vines en masse "brings a lot of stress to a vine." It's far from a natural state for the plant, which is originally a solitary climber. For vines, I believe "biodynamics is like a therapy... to help the vines forget about stress."

Plants have memories of cosmic influences. By bringing these memories to the vine, we help the vine function better. For example, if I want the vine to flower better, I use a plant with a strong Venus influence. I take the plant and make it into an herbal tea and spray it onto the vine. This takes the energy of the plant and puts it in contact with the vine through the element of water – it's like trying to teach the vine the lesson of the plant.

What are the challenges of biodynamics?

The only disadvantage to biodynamic viticulture is the additional cost, both in new equipment and skilled workers. And if you have a disease in the vineyard, it can be hard to stop its progression... if you make a mistake, it can cost you dearly. Biodynamic farming is a preventative approach rather than a curative one.

But I can see life coming back into the vineyards. We have 23 permanent staff working in the vines. It's an investment, but it's necessary for this level of quality.

The estate was certified biodynamic in 2002. You've also been president of Biodyvin since that year...

Yes, Biodyvin is a union of over 200 biodynamic winegrowers, mainly in France, but also in Belgium, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland. We represent more than 5,200 hectares of vineyards. Our mission is to preserve soil fertility, to allow the vines to flourish in a well-preserved terroir, to let animal and plant life resume its place in the vineyard, and to protect the environment. In this way, the wines produced are able to give full expression to the terroir.

You also revolutionized the approach to dry wines in Alsace...

In the early 1990s, we concentrated on terroir expression and developing our grand cru bottlings. Back then, sweet wines were easiest to sell, and I made lots of vendange tardive and sélection de grains nobles bottlings.

But things changed dramatically about 20 years ago. This was partly due to climate change – hotter weather means lower acidity (crucial to balance high sugar levels) and drier conditions are less favorable for noble rot. But it was also in response to a change in global drinking habits. You have to adapt to what nature throws at you in the vineyards... and you also have to adapt to what people want to drink.

Your winemaking methods are also unconventional...

Fermentation for white wines at most wineries takes two to four weeks. At Zind-Humbrecht, it can last up to a year. I don't chaptalize, I don't fine. I've replaced these practices with longer pressing cycles, elevage on lees for a minimum of 8 months, and especially longer, slower fermentations.

I also use traditional large oak casks extensively. Wood promotes easier and faster fermentation thanks to the microorganisms present. But be careful: I never use new wood for Riesling. It's like caviar and jam – they don't go well together.

You've also innovated in consumer communication...

Yes, when I realized that my own wife had difficulty determining whether a Riesling from our cellar was dry or sweet, I thought: if my wife doesn't know what this wine tastes like, my customers won't either. So I introduced a sweetness index on the label, ranging from 1 (driest) to 5 (sweetest). It was pragmatic, but necessary.

The estate comprises 40 hectares divided into over 100 different parcels. How do you manage this complexity?

It's both a challenge and a richness. We're spread across six villages and multiple soil types, including several grand cru sites. Lafite's terroir was built from alluvial rocks from the Quaternary period, but here in Alsace, we have incredible geological diversity.

Broadly speaking, there are three types of soil: on the Vosges itself, the soil is acidic, well-drained, and poor in nutrients – ideal conditions for quality wine. The second type of soil is on the mountain foothills, with a calcareous base. The third type is on the valley floor, comprising alluvial sediments and pebbles. When you combine these different soils with aspect, which can be north or south-facing, you understand why there are so many different grape varieties.

Your vines are planted with all the great Alsatian varieties...

Yes: Riesling (43%), Pinot Gris (26%), Gewurztraminer (18%), Pinot Blanc (4%), Auxerrois (4%), Muscat d'Alsace (2%), Pinot Noir (1%) – and even a little Chardonnay (3%). Each variety finds its preferred terroir. My father Léonard was always passionate about terroir, and the estate's foundations are based on respecting the terroir-grape variety relationship. Finding harmony between the grape variety and the terroir on which it's grown allows for the production of great wines.

You've also been president of the Alsace Grand Cru Association since 2011...

It's an important role. My father was president of the Syndicat de défense des Grands Crus d'Alsace for many years and was one of the key figures in creating the Grand Cru classification system in Alsace. Today, our understanding of Alsace's multiple terroirs is driving the region toward a more diverse and specific range of AOCs. It's a long-term endeavor, but essential.

Can Riesling rival the great Burgundy Chardonnays?

Yes. There are varieties that have qualitative potential because they may be small and concentrated, or convey an interesting balance in terms of either tannin or acidity, for example. In any list of great varieties, Riesling is there, just like Chardonnay. They're two giants, with different personalities.

What wines do you drink at home?

[Laughs] Really a lot of different styles, but surprisingly not so much our own wines. I taste them every day at work, so I like to change... The last bottles I drank very recently at home were: Comte de Champagne Taittinger 2008 (a gift from my son-in-law for Father's Day), Pinot Blanc 1975, Coulée de Serrant 2007 by Virginie Joly, Clos Jebsal 1996, Eolithe red from Château de Fosse-Sèche 2017, Domaine de l'Horizon 2018 red, Château Gombaude-Guillot Pomerol 1990, Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru 2015 Domaine Comte Liger-Belair...

And I celebrate every goal from the French national team with a glass of Highland Park 1959.

What advice would you give young winemakers?

The most important advice I received came from my physiology and viticulture teacher at Purpan-Toulouse in 1982-1987: do not do summer pruning hedging, it's illogical if you try to understand the physiology of the vine and its fructification system. It was life-changing advice.

And I would also say: learn about wine every day. That's what still fascinates me after all these years. My son Pierre-Émile joined the estate in 2019, and I see the same passion in him. It's the greatest reward.

A final word on Alsace and its wines?

Alsace wines are currently undervalued. For wine lovers, there has never been a better time to discover them. Our entry-level range begins at just $32/£24 per bottle, and our grand cru collection, considered by many to be among the finest white wines in the world, ranges from around $54/£40 to $121/£90 per bottle. Comparable wines from leading estates in Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, or the Rhône cost many times that.

Alsace is a beautiful region – not just for its half-timbered houses around which a profusion of flowers seems to float, or for its grand hillside vineyards climbing up to the forested Vosges. It's also the independence of spirit of its winemakers. Our historical and geographical position, wedged between (and much fought-over by) France and Germany, has given us an independence of thought that eludes those with a more settled position in each wine culture.

And then there are the wines. It's commonplace to say that Alsace wines are underappreciated – but it's true.

Brief biography:

• 1989: Becomes France's first Master of Wine
• 1989: Takes over management of Domaine Zind-Humbrecht
• 1997: Full estate conversion to biodynamics
• 2002: Official biodynamic certification and begins presidency of Biodyvin
• 2011: President of the Alsace Grand Cru Association
• Consultant for Phantom Creek Vineyards in British Columbia, Canada
• 40 hectares of vines divided into over 100 parcels
• 23 permanent employees in the vineyards