Pirouettes - 'Eros de Vincent' - Edelzwicker Blend - Alsace, FR - 2024

Notes from the Winery/Importer

cultivated and vinified by Vincent Gross, Domaine Gross, Gueberschwihr Vineyard: 0.5 ha blend of parcels “Gueberschwihr” (limestone; gentle slopes in full sun) and “Rouffach” (sandstone; hot and windy) with 18-year-old vines. Organic since 2011. Grapes: 2024: 40% Gewurztraminer, 25% Riesling, 20% Sylvaner, 15% Pinot Gris 2023: Pinot Gris, Riesling, Auxerrois, Gewurtraminer 2022: Gewurztraminer (35%), Pinot Gris (25%), Auxerois (20%), Riesling (10%), Sylvaner (10%) Making of (2024): Grapes are hand-harvested and sorted in the vineyards. 60% are destemmed, 40% left whole-cluster, and all are macerated for 14 days. Aged 8 months in a mix of old wood and stainless steel; no sulfites added. Previous vintages saw 70% of grapes destemmed, 30% left whole-cluster, six months’ élevage. Personality: “I loved making this skinsy Alsatian amber,” says Vincent — he sees the deeply macerated wine as a reflection of the terroir of Gueberschwihr, which “lends itself perfectly to this style of winemaking.” Beloved far and wide, its profile is tart, complex and people-pleasing. - Jenny & Francois

Notes on the Producer

Quick facts: Location: different villages all across Alsace, France Owner & winemaker: an informal association of a growing number of Alsatian growers. Founded by the renowned Alsatian winemaker Christian Binner, run by Rémi Segura and enologists Pierre Sanchez and Xavier Couturier Vineyard area: variable, due to the nature of the project Vineyard management: all growers are Organic- or Biodynamic-certified Soils: Alsace is a geological medley of many soil types, including granite, sand, loess, gneiss, limestone, clay, etc… Main varieties: the classical Alsatian bunch: Auxerrois, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Sylvaner, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Noir Winemaking: sparkling wines made as pet-nats or crémants, Eros skin-contact whites, Tutti-Frutti blends… Always spontaneous fermentation, no fining, no filtration, no sulfur added.

Fun facts:

• Christian Binner, the renowned winemaker with more than 20 years of experience, launched this project to help respectful growers in his native Alsace to make and sell soulful natural wines at friendly prices
• It’s an open association of an ever-growing number of winemakers around Alsace, all working organically or biodynamically
• All the wines are made in their respective cellars by the winemakers themselves, fostered by the project’s enologists
• The name « Pirouette » symbolizes the fun they’re having with this movement, but also the mastery & knowhow needed to execute a good honest wine
• Since 2023, the Lycée Viticole de Rouffach (winemaking school in the village of Rouffach) joined the project, marking an important initiative: natural winemaking is thus putting its foot in the door of the official enological curriculum in France!
  “Les Vins Pirouettes” is a collective project originally launched by Christian Binner, the renowned Alsatian winemaker (and a part of our book, of course), who’s been making legendary zero-zero wines in his Ammerschwihr winery for more than 20 years. Saddened by the sight of organic and biodynamic grapes being sold for little to cooperatives, in 2008 Christian decided to encourage these growers to make wine under their proper name instead, thus promoting the idea of soulful terroir wines made with zero nonsense both in the vineyard and the cellar.
  Alsace is a great region for this goal: thanks to the Vosges range protecting it from the West, it’s a sunny and dry area, exercising lower disease pressure on the sensitive Vitis Vinifera. And, given its colorful geology, the region is a true patchwork of soils and subsoils ranging from granite to limestone and volcanic plots. Combine it with the 13 typical local varietals and you have the ideal hotbed for a breathtaking span of flavors and styles, especially when respectfully grown; it would be a sin to let them disappear in some insipid cooperative wines.
  Hence Pirouettes! A friendly, open association of an ever-growing number of like-minded vignerons. As of 2023, it consists of some twenty organic and biodynamic growers whose first names you’ll always find on the bottle, along with a title referring to the method (Pet-nat, Crémant…), cru (Bildstoecklé, Frankstein) or style of wine. The Glou Glous are—surprise surprise—highly drinkable, Tutti Frutti connotes a white blend of multiple grapes, Eros serves flamboyant macerated whites… All the wines are made with zero-additions in the winemakers’ own cellars, with the gentle helping hand of the project’s enologists Xavier Couturier and Pierre Sanchez.
  “It’s important to say that Pirouette is by no means a négoce,” the team explains. “On the contrary, each cuvée is vinified at the winemaker’s own place, by their own team, respecting their history and character.” And since selling the wine is equally important yet not easy (it’s difficult to be a brand manager when you’re a full-time vineyard person), Rémi Ségura and Alicia Merimé have joined the project to spread the word and continue its successful journey throughout the world.
  « Pirouettes » is the name they chose to symbolize the fun they’re having, but also because “these wines are like beautiful artistic figures, the result of certain know-how and mastery. Pirouette is a gesture of freedom, emotion, and joy,” Christian explains. Indeed, it’s an appropriate name for this liberated movement of skillful artisans, and a beautiful legacy for the winemaker who pushed it forward.