Bernard Bohn and his son Arthur organically farm 9 hectares of vines in the small village of Reichsfeld in Alsace, 40km south of Strasbourg, where the family have been winegrowers for over three centuries. Bernard took over the family winery at the young age of 18, after leaving his Jesuit boarding school and enrolling in the local winemaking program. Over the years, Bernard added to his family’s vineyards which were spread across a collection of small parcels. Eventually, he gathered a 5 hectare plot of old vine Pinot Gris and Riesling on the Schieferberg, an incredibly steep slope of schist, with the family’s chapel nestled at the top.

While the family has been practicing sustainable farming for years, even going as far as abandoning vineyard plowing and letting cover crops coexist, they began official organic conversion in 2018; the family believes that preserving the local flora and fauna is fundamental to the domaine and its wines. The harvests are intentionally small, and everything is hand-harvested.  The Pinot Gris and Riesling are planted on nearly pure schist in Reichsfeld along the Schieferberg slope while the Pinot Noir, along with Sylvaner, Muscat, and Gewurztraminer, are on sandstone on the facing hillside in Bernardvillé.

Following Alsatian tradition, the wines are named after the grape varietal. In the cellar, Bernard and Arthur use as little SO2 as possible. Believing strongly in his schist terroir, Bernard often ages the Shieferberg Pinot Gris and Riesling for 6 or more years in bottle before release. They are also experimenting with sans soufre, unfiltered wines under the label “Par Nathur,” a play on nature and Arthur’s name.