Marc Tempe

After spending years of your life caring for a plant, ensuring that is healthy, to some it seems crazy to just let nature take its course in the cellar. Modern winemaking schools teach that it is “risky” to use non-invasive techniques. The fermentation could get stuck, the wine might oxidize, etc. Marc Tempe believes that after all of that work farming, it would be much crazier to manipulate the grapes into particular style or flavors, rather than letting the grapes speak for themselves.

Marc Tempe seeks as natural a process as possible. He views himself as a partner with the land and allows the vines to take the lead. In the cellar his wines experience extended fermentations and aging on lees (18 to 24 months), in large, old oak barrels. Marc Tempe uses only native yeast, little if any fining or filtration and minimal sulfur. Through his natural approach he achieves great aromatic complexity, minerality and an honest expression of terroir. All of the winemaking is practiced without artificial additions to the wine. In a interview for the French paper ‘La Revue du Vin’ biodynamic pioneer and Alsace legend Leonard Humbrecht called Marc Tempe his spiritual godson.

Marc Tempe biodynamically farms 8 Hectares around his house and cellar in Zellenberg, Alsace. He began his career working for the INAO (Institut National des Appellations d’Origine) the government body responsible for French AOC system. Specifically, he selected vineyards to be considered for Alsace’s Grand Cru ranking. In 1995 Marc and his wife Anne-Marie released their first wines and currently farm 30 separate plots including the Fürstentum, Mambourg, Schoenenbourg, Burgreben and Grafenreben Grand Cru’s. Each of the parcels is different from the other by type of soil and climate , enabling them to work with many Alsatian grape varieties.

Marc Tempe is an active member of Nicolas Joly’s La Rennaissance des Appellations group formed in 2001. All the participating wine-growers recognize that the soil and climate is different everywhere on earth and strive to express the unique characteristics of their special terroirs. The group adheres to a strict Quality Charter concerning vineyard and cellar practices. But Marc and Ann Marie’s commitment to biodynamic farming extends far beyond marketing. To them, it is the only way to create a good wine. This method makes the vinaroon and the earth partners in safeguarding nature for future generations. The grapes, then, are an expression of nature and Marc’s wines reveal the richness of the soil through complexity and minerality. These wines vary from vintage to vintage in the best possible sense- with a high standard of quality, but displaying the imprint of a particular time and place.