Racines Rebelles - Kaja Kohv

The essence behind Racines Rebelles is mostly gathered by sommelier's desire to become a winegrower without having a degree in viticulture nor a family in wine business.

2,5 ha (mostly old vines on steep slopes) planted with 8 varieties like Elbling (indigenous to Upper Mosel), Pinot Blanc, Auxerrois, Rivaner, Riesling, Pinot Noir, St. Laurent and Pinot Gris are farmed by regenerative organic approach with cover cropping and phytotherapy (medicinal plants & herbs) to create living ecosystems surrounded by orchards and bushes. Biologic treatments are mixed with wild plants like stinging nettle, common horsetail & dandelion are infused into teas and sprayed along seaweed extract, propolis and essential oils to boost the natural defenses of the vines. Manual labor avoids soil compaction in order to establish fungal interactions between vines, trees and cover crops. The main goal remains on farming with common sense and as precise as possible to be able to lower the intervention in the cellar for letting the wines to show their pure mineral backbone from limestone and gypsum (ancient seabeds formed 200 million years ago during the Jurassic Period).

Grape selection during harvest is done by hand in the vineyards to separate botrytis affected grapes for being able to pick healthy bunches for longer macerations. Spontaneous fermentations are finished in larger old barrels (oak & acacia) and stainless steel vats. Besides, very limited quatity of cider from 70-120 years old apple orchards that have never seen any treatments against fungal diseases is produced with varieties like Erbachhofer, Rambur, Triumph, Goldrenette & Bohnapel.