Bruno & Elena Schueller

MYSTERY
The most relaxed guy on the planet that we have met after many years of waiting is Bruno Schueller. He has a tremendous Italian way with flair. No wonder, because his charming wife Elena is from Italy. Relax! Winemakers don't have to be such a mystery, but Bruno is. While he pays tribute to his father's patience and careful way of growing wine, he has challenged local orthodoxy in the cellar and shaped the definition of Alsatian wine in his image, creating a unique and intriguing approach to winemaking that will pique your curiosity.

LA BRUNO
We were delighted by the warm welcome and the relative ease with which we tasted so many delicious wines in the cool, even cold, old cellar. Bruno follows the biodynamic rules without membership and certification. He is very independent, wants to remain free from strict frameworks, and focuses on developing his wine. The wines are only sometimes in line with what is considered typical in Alsace, but Bruno is fine. To truly appreciate his wines, you must be open-minded and ready to embrace the unique and the unconventional. Bruno is an icon and inspiration for those seeking less manipulated wines. When they're on, they're magical. They're the once-in-a-lifetime bottles every sommelier dreams of drinking and bragging about before they die. Bruno has plots in two Grand Cru vineyards, Eichberg and Pfersigberg, and a handful of other small plots around the village, all sheltered by the mountains to the west and notable for their limestone-lined soils. His rare and mysterious Pinot Noirs are not just wines; they are uplifting expressions of the varietal, as heady and delicately perfumed as they are powerful, casting a magical spell on all who taste them, leaving you enchanted and captivated.

ORANGE
Skin-Contact lives with Bruno, too. He experiments with varying amounts of maceration on his Gewürztraminers and Pinot Gris, adding brooding complexity to the already aromatic Alsace varietals. At their best, Bruno's wines are profoundly structured and elegantly detailed masterpieces that force us to question their adherence to the typical characteristics of their varietals, which is not a goal but a point of reference for Bruno. These are noble wines from a noble region that, through the kaleidoscopic lens of a truly creative mind, look more exciting than ever before.

Orange wine is a style of white wine that has existed for 8,000 years or more. It aims to make white wine without sulphur because the tannins in the skins act as antioxidants and add tension to wines that may lack acidity.

P.S.
The argument against skin contact is similar to the debate about cold carbonation, but I prefer wines with skin contact. The problem with cold carbonation macerated wines (dry ice in fermentation before adding CO2) is a growing 'monotony' of aromatic solid flavours of cinnamon, curry and roses in most wines.