Moritz Prado

Moritz Prado is the union of 2 great personalities. The realization of a dream: to create their own wines, their own styles. Thanks to their experience in different vineyards around the world, in 2018 they decided to settle in Alsace (where the winemaker is originally from).

You won't find the great-grandfather's first name in the name of the wine estate....!!!!

Balance doesn't just exist in the wines at this house! Angela Prado, Colombian, and Ghislain Moritz, French, meet in Paris. Ghislain Moritz, an oenologist by training, met Angela Prado. One of them then decided to specialize in wine and spirits, taking a Master's degree in Dijon.

They then set up their own wine estate, which they named after each other.

The Maison Moritz Prado

From 2005 onwards, they travelled together through the wine lands of Burgundy, then the Douro Valley in Portugal, and finally Romania. Together, they work in the wine world and discoverother ways of making wine.

In 2018, they succeeded in acquiring their first plot to work in Alsace, south of Strasbourg, in the village of Albé, a little way off the Alsace wine route (the 1st French wine route inaugurated in 1953), in an enclave of the Val de Villé. Today, the wine estate covers 4.8 hectares.

Their aim is to bring the terroirto the fore , express its richness, remain free, and promote and experiment with other forms of winemaking.

Latest news

Domaine Moritz Prado has been certified biodynamic since 2022. Construction and move into their newly-built winery in Albé, Alsace's highest village.

Growing vines on schist terroir

Special feature: the Albé vineyard is located on a terroir composed mainly of schist.

It's a mountain vineyard, in an enclave of the Val de Villé south of Strasbourg. The schist soils contribute to the expression of a certain minerality in their wines. The vines are steeply planted at altitudes of between 400 and 500 m, on slopes of up to 40%, with south-southwest exposure.

Yields are lower than the appellation requirements (35 hl/ha - 45 hl/ha) for better wine concentration.

The coolness of the altitude and the warmth restored by the schist terroir is an asset in these times of climate change.

The vines and cellars have been working biodynamically since 2020, and the wine estate has been certified organic since 2021. They work with several types of plant cover to create controlled grass cover, which provides natural fertilizers to develop microbial life.

Winemaking

Once the hand harvest has entered the winery, the artisan winemaker takes great care. The winemaking process is bold and well-controlled , using indigenous yeasts for natural fermentation.

Sulfite is used sparingly, if at all, during processing and bottling. Wines are either filtered or unfiltered, depending on the wine type.

Depending on the vintage and style, the wine estate uses 3 types of bottle size. Some of the musts are vinified in stainless steel vats, barrels or jars (amphorae without handles).

Some wines are made by blending, first ageing each batch separately in vats, barrels or amphoras, then blending to create cuvées in variable proportions according to vintage and taste.

Another particularity of the wine estate is that it produces a majority of red wines, pinot noir also expressing itself particularly well on schist soils. The winemaking objective is to bring out the best in the schist terroir.