While Mathieu Deiss’ main gig remains working in the vines and cellar of his father’s family domaine, Domaine Marcel Deiss, he and his partner, Emmanuelle Milan, kicked off their personal project in 2013. Mathieu explains the story and inspiration behind the Vignoble du Rêveur wines, the fruit of vineyards he inherited from his maternal grandfather:

"All his life, my grandfather fought for his independence, for true freedom! Working his vineyards today is my homage to his fight, to his idealistic dreams, and I intend to continue his battle. It’s time to take back the right to dream, to build a future without limits, to reinvent wine and its definition, to break the rules, move walls and open our eyes, to decide that anything is possible!

By 2016 I had taken on the entire 7 hectares that my uncle and grandfather left to me. Vignoble du Rêveur includes no grape purchases, no negociant activity, and remains entirely my own production. The parcels are located mostly in the commune of Bennwihr, just outside of the valley of Kaysersberg, on a relatively young soil of Quatenary stone.

Without a doubt, the natural environment is the ultimate guide when it comes my viticultural practices. So, instinctively, I immediately began reconverting the entire estate to organic and biodynamic agriculture. After all, if we look back in the grand scheme of things, this was the only viticultural method throughout most of history! Because I have taken back my family’s holdings little by little, this transition to organics has been progressive.

When it comes to vinification, I do not plan to create an independent winery, especially because my main role remains at Domaine Marcel Deiss. Vignoble du Rêveur was born from my desire to continue the vineyard legacy of my maternal uncle, but I chose to vinify both Rêveur and Deiss in the same place as I simply cannot be in two places at once during harvest.”