EARL PLATZ FRANCOIS ET FILS
Alsace
The Platz family has been working the vineyards in Alsace for three generations. Each generation has made its contribution. Today, Vincent and Jean-Luc take care of the family business. Passionate independent winegrowers never stop improving the quality of their wines.
"Since our childhood, we have been immersed in the world of wine. Our parents passed on their know-how to us, which we supplemented with specialised studies and experience in other Alsatian estates and abroad, in particular in farms converted to organic farming in Germany", explains Vincent Platz. He set up the farm in 2003, and his brother Jean-Luc followed him in 2009. Convinced by organic farming, they obtained Ecocert Organic Agriculture certification in 2004.
This conversion was carried out in 1993 with François, Vincent and Jean-Luc's father. He stopped using fertilisers in the vines and weeding before switching to integrated production (a variant of organic) in 2001. Their credo was to improve the quality of the wines while respecting the environment as much as possible. By keeping yields low (4000-5000 litres per hectare), they opt for quality with more concentrated grapes, in other words, the policy of "consuming less to consume better". On the other hand, they have made numerous investments to create a vinification cellar, a tasting cellar, and enlarge the storage cellar.
"At the Platz François & Fils estate, we do everything from A to Z, from the treatment of the vines to the bottling", Vincent continues. And there is no shortage of work on the 4-hectare estate! In addition to producing the seven main grape varieties of Alsace: Sylvaner, Pinot Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Muscat, Gewurztraminer and Pinot Noir, the Platz brothers have the opportunity to work on different terroirs located in 5 different communes. Among these terroirs, the Goldesch de Bergheim (yellow marl-limestone soil), the Rotenberg de Bergheim (limestone soil) but also the Grand Cru Altenberg de Bergheim (very stony red marl-limestone soil) and the Grand Cru Sonnenglanz (marl-limestone soil). This diversity of terroirs allows them to present a wide range of very qualitative wines. "It is on the Riesling that we judge the Alsatian winegrower", explains Vincent. Not forgetting that all our wines have no added sugar since 1996.
