Exploring Domaine Einhart: Organic and Natural Wine from Northern Alsace
Most of the Alsace wine people know comes from the south, the famous stretch of villages around Colmar. Domaine Einhart is somewhere else entirely. It sits in Rosenwiller, a small village in the Bas-Rhin, up on the hills above Rosheim and about half an hour from Strasbourg. It's a quieter, cooler corner of Alsace, and the wines taste like it: lean, bright and a little salty.
We have three Einhart bottles on the shelf right now, and they're some of the easiest Alsace wines to recommend in the shop. Here's who makes them and what each one is like.
A family on the Westerberg since 1870
The Einhart family has been growing grapes on the Westerberg, a broad south-facing slope between Rosheim and Rosenwiller, since 1870. The soils are clay and limestone, fairly heavy, and that limestone is a big part of why these wines finish with such a clean, chalky snap.
Nicolas Einhart, the fifth generation, joined the family estate around 1990. He didn't wait for organic farming to be fashionable. In 1997 he helped found TIFLO, a group of local growers working to protect wild habitat between the vines and to stop using the harshest vineyard chemicals. He converted the whole estate to organic farming in 2008, and the first certified organic grapes came in with the 2011 harvest.
Théo Einhart and the natural turn
Today his son Théo runs the cellar, and he has taken the domaine further toward natural wine. Grapes are picked by hand, early in the season and early in the morning, while they're still cool. Each parcel is made separately and only blended afterward. In the cellar, Théo does very little: some racking, a bit of pumping over, some aeration. Some of the whites now spend a few days on their skins, which gives them a little extra texture without turning them into full orange wines.
What you get is Alsace without the weight. If you think of the region as heavy, off-dry Gewürztraminer, these will change your mind.
The Einhart wines we carry
2024 Einhart Alsace White Blend ($30)
This is Théo's take on edelzwicker, the old Alsace tradition of blending several grapes into one everyday white. Auxerrois leads, with Riesling, Muscat and Pinot Blanc filling it out. The vines average about 25 years old, the grapes get a short cold soak, and the wine rests eight months on its fine lees before it's bottled unfined and unfiltered.
It pours pale and smells like lemon, white flowers and a little ripe tropical fruit. The texture is silky, the acidity is lively and it ends on a salty note. It's the bottle to grab for a weeknight, and it's great with sushi, grilled fish or a roast chicken.
Shop the 2024 Einhart Alsace White Blend
2024 Einhart 'Albermohn' Blanc ($44)
Albermohn Blanc is a blend of Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris and Riesling from Théo's limestone soils in Rosenwiller, and it comes in at just 12% alcohol. Those are the grapes that usually make Alsace wines big and perfumed, but here they're kept light. You get white flowers, white-fleshed fruit and a touch of citrus, then a straight, tense palate and a saline finish.
It's delicate, so don't bury it under heavy food. Pour it as an aperitif or with oysters, goat cheese or a simple roast chicken.
Shop the 2024 Einhart 'Albermohn' Blanc
2023 Einhart 'Albermohn' Rouge Pinot Noir ($40)
More Alsace growers are making serious Pinot Noir now, and this is one of our favorites. It's 100% Pinot Noir from shallow clay and limestone soils where the roots stay in the top 40 centimeters. The grapes are destemmed, the wine is aged in large oak vessels, and it's bottled with no added sulfur.
Expect stewed red fruit, black pepper and a hint of almond, with silky tannins and plenty of freshness to keep it lively. Serve it slightly cool, around 60 to 65°F, with lamb, duck, mushroom risotto or anything off the grill.
Shop the 2023 Einhart 'Albermohn' Rouge Pinot Noir
Which Einhart bottle should you pick?
- For an easy weeknight white: the Alsace White Blend, our best value of the three.
- For oysters or an aperitif: the Albermohn Blanc.
- For a light red with dinner: the Albermohn Rouge, especially if you like Beaujolais or cool-climate Pinot.
Why we love Domaine Einhart
A lot of natural wine is exciting and a little unpredictable. Einhart's wines are clean, precise and easy to love, and they still come from a family that's been farming carefully for a long time. They're a great way into Alsace if you've only had the sweeter, heavier styles, and a great way into natural wine if you're still not sure it's for you.
Stop by the shop at 171 Elizabeth St in Nolita and ask us to open one, or shop all Einhart wines online. Looking for more? Browse our natural white wines and natural red wines.
