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WINEGROWERS IN RIQUEWIHR SINCE 1639
Between the Vosges mountains and the
Rhine plain, at the heart of the winegrowing region of Alsace lies Riquewihr, where the house of Hugel & Fils is established.
The first Hugel who can be traced, Hans-Ulrich, left his native country of
Switzerland during the Thirty Years War (1618-48).
In 1639, he decided to settle in Riquewihr, a small, fortified town nestling in a hollow, surrounded by vineyards.
A sign of destiny: in 1575, a law had been passed in Riquewihr permitting only noble vines to be planted and winegrowers who planted inferior varieties were
heavily fined. Until the early XVIIth century, Alsace was the largest and most renowned wine producing region in the Germanic Holy Roman Empire.
During the XVIIIth and XIXth centuries, the Hugel family gained an enviable reputation for their winegrowing skills and for the meticulous way in which they cultivated their vineyards.
The French Revolution (1789), the Napoleonic Wars and the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, together with new diseases such as phylloxera, oïdium and mildew caused the steady decline of the Alsace wine region.
In 1902, Emile Hugel left the old family property  and established himself in
premises in the centre of Riquewihr which still form the heart of the family business.
In 1918, Alsace was restored to France. This happy event prompted the winegrowers to redefine their production policy. The Hugels
decided on a policy of "quality first". By then, only a handful of farsighted and courageous winegrowers, including Emile Hugel, took steps to save the vineyards of Alsace. This veritable
pioneer devoted his entire life to the promotion of high-quality wines from noble grape varieties.
He aimed to recreate the noble wines of the past and considered that this was the only way to
affirm the personality of Alsace wines, attract the French consumer and, in due course, to interest overseas markets.
Thanks to the excellent vintages of 1921, 1928 and 1929, the reputation of the
quality of Alsace wines was definitively re-established in France and, at last, it was possible to think of increasing the volume of wines sold abroad.
Of course, the company had begun very early to export but it was only from 1932 onwards that it was possible to make a concerted effort to prospect overseas markets systematically.
London was the most important centre for the international wine trade. So, having established a solid reputation in London, the old family from Riquewihr
was able to gain a foothold, first in the countries of the Commonwealth and then throughout the world. Emile Hugel's son, Jean continued this crusade. By
his perseverance and hard work he proved that Alsace wines merited a place among the finest wines of the world.
His three sons, Georges, Jean and André, have strictly followed this same
course, and they have obtained official recognition for Alsace late-harvest "Vendange Tardive" and "Sélection de Grains Nobles" wines.
The next generation is faithfully implementing the major principles it has inherited from its ancestors. A noble mission awaits Jean-Philippe, Marc and
Etienne : to make Alsace wine the great white wine of the XXIst century. |
