Hugel winery
The family owns a 30 hectares estate of prime sites in Riquewihr, mostly classed Grand Cru, and buys grapes from a further 110 hectares farmed under contract. The Hugel estates are planted with only the noble Alsace grape varieties, with vines averaging 35 years of age. Hugel production averages 110,000 cases per year, of which around 90% is exported to more than 100 countries worldwide, where Alsace is often synonymous with Hugel . The second driest wine region in France, Alsace has a unique climate that enables the grapes to ripen slowly, giving dry, aromatic wines with great finesse and unequaled intensity: a perfect match for most Western and Asian cuisine. Hugel wines, with their distinctive yellow labels, express the pure varietal character of Gewurztraminer, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Muscat, and Pinot Blanc, all of which have no make-up from oaking or sweetening. The Hugel family pioneered late-harvest Alsace wines, Vendange Tardive and S lection de Grains Nobles and drafted the law that governs their production. The Hugel cellars, under fine XVIth century buildings in the heart of medieval Riquewihr, contain large oak barrels which are more than one century old, including the famous S. Caterine cask, dated 1715, named the world s oldest working cask by the Guinness Book of Records. The Hugel family are members of the Primum Familiae Vini an exclusive association of some of the world s most prestigious wine dynasties.