Domaine
Haag 
Jean-Marie Haag
He’s big, beefy, ruddy and genial. Jean-Marie Haag is the textbook
Germanic farmer – he could have 200 acres of sugar beets in
Krumbach or 900 acres of corn and soybeans in Iowa. Instead he is
an amazingly passionate and talented winegrower with a small vineyard
in Alsace.
His 15 acres of vineyards are in one of Alsace’s best terroirs,
in the village of Soultzmatt. They are entitled to the designation ‘Vallee
Noble’, an Appellation between Alsace and Alsace Grand Cru.
The exception is his 4 acres in the great Grand Cru ‘Zinnkoepfle’.
Jean-Marie and wife Myriam are fairly young – probably early
40’s. In the small, long-lived little world of Alsace this makes
him a beginner. Yet he is already president of the Soultzmatt grower’s
association, with 80 members. He is one of the youngest, a tribute
by his neighbors to the increased quality and reputation he has brought
to his village. His vineyards are in conversion to organic farming
under the strictest system, Biodynamics.
With 15 acres, you would expect a limited number of wines, yet Jean-Marie
annually makes a dozen wines – not counting any Vendanges Tardives
or Selections de Grains Nobles that mother nature might permit. Profound
homebodies, with a much-loved son and daughter, Jean-Marie and Myriam
still travel regularly around Europe to market their wines at various
shows and fairs. Consumers visiting his cellar on an ancient narrow
side street in Soultzmatt are always treated to a comprehensive tasting,
conducted with warmth and pride. Love of family, home and work shine
through both Jean-Marie and Myriam. Few people anywhere can be as happily
at home with their lives and work. |
