The Arborist, the Apprentice of Two Masters & a Cellar That Isn't His
For nearly 20 years Steeve Zaegel worked "au vert" as a tree-climbing arborist — pruning, felling, and listening to the vegetal world from the canopy down. Then he fell in love with natural wine, apprenticed with biodynamic legend Patrick Meyer at Domaine Julien Meyer, and later with Jean-Marc and Claudine Dreyer at Domaine Dreyer in Rosheim. Now he runs a cave à vin in Geispolsheim with 350 references, tends a few complanted ares in Blaesheim, and vinifies as a négociant vinificateur — without a cellar of his own, making wine at a friend's domaine. The name says it all: from green to wine.
Origin — From the Treetops to the Vine Rows
For nearly 20 years, Steeve Zaegel worked au vert — in the green — as an arborist-grimpeur, a tree-climbing pruner and feller. He created his own company, Déclic Jardin, and spent his days in the canopy, learning the language of wood, leaf, and sap. What interested him above all was "the relationship with the vegetal, with nature" — a rapport that would eventually lead him from trees to vines.
The transition to wine was not planned; it was a passion that grew. Steeve became fascinated by natural wines — not just drinking them, but understanding how they were made, who made them, and why. He sought out the vignerons whose bottles he loved, and in doing so, found two mentors who would shape his approach.
First, Patrick Meyer of Domaine Julien Meyer in Nothalten — a biodynamic vigneron since 1998, one of Alsace's true pioneers of natural farming. Steeve learned at his side, absorbing the rhythms of biodynamic viticulture, the calendar of preparations, and the patience required to farm without chemicals. Then, Jean-Marc and Claudine Dreyer of Domaine Dreyer in Rosheim — another cornerstone of Alsatian natural wine, known for their meticulous work and profound wines. Between these two masters, Steeve built a foundation of knowledge that most aspiring vignerons would envy.
In around 2015, he opened Du Vert au Vin at 13 Rue d'Entzheim in Geispolsheim-Village — a cave à vin that quickly became a hub for natural wine lovers in the Strasbourg suburbs. The name is a play on words: du vert au vin — from green (the trees) to wine (the vines), but also vert as in "unripe," the moment before the grape becomes wine. It is a name that captures his entire journey.
The Place — A Few Ares in Blaesheim & a Friend's Cellar
Steeve's viticultural footprint is small but principled. He tends a few complanted ares in Blaesheim — a field blend of Gewürztraminer, Muscat, Pinot Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Noir, and Sylvaner — and vinifies at a friend's domaine, as he has no cellar of his own. The approach is resolutely natural: no certification, natural grass cover, manual harvest in small crates, minimal copper and sulfur, herbal teas of horsetail, nettles, and willow.
Complantation in Blaesheim
Steeve's vines are complanted — multiple varieties intermingled in the same parcel, the ancient Alsatian practice revived by domaines like Marcel Deiss. The varieties include Gewürztraminer, Muscat, Pinot Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Noir, and Sylvaner Rouge. This is not monoculture; it is a living ecosystem where each grape contributes to the whole, and the wine expresses the place rather than the variety.
No Cellar, No Problem
"Je n'ai actuellement pas de chai ou de domaine: la vinification s'est faite chez un ami vigneron." Steeve vinifies at a friend's domaine, a common arrangement in the natural wine world where community and collaboration trump ownership. His status is négociant vinificateur — he buys or grows grapes, makes the wine, and sells it under his own label.
Natural Grass Cover & Herbal Teas
The vineyard work is done with natural grass cover, manual harvest in small crates, and treatments limited to copper, minimal sulfur, and herbal teas of horsetail (prêle), nettles (orties), and willow (saules). No synthetic chemicals, no herbicides, no pesticides. The approach is observational and gentle — learned from two decades in the trees, where forcing nature always backfires.
Vin de France, Not AOC
"Je cherche à rester en vin de France, les appellations ne m'intéressent pas." Steeve deliberately avoids AOC certification, choosing the freedom of Vin de France to experiment with complantation, blends, and techniques that the rigid Alsace appellation rules would not permit. It is a political choice as much as a practical one.
Winemaking — At a Friend's Place, With Two Masters' Lessons
Steeve's winemaking is defined by constraint and community. Without a cellar of his own, he vinifies at a friend's domaine — an arrangement that requires trust, flexibility, and the ability to work with whatever equipment is available. The wines are made with indigenous yeasts, no additives, no filtration, and the lightest of touches.
The complantation approach means that each harvest is a blend of multiple varieties, co-fermented or assembled after individual vinifications. The result is not a varietal wine but a wine of place — the Blaesheim terroir expressed through the harmony of its grapes. The 2022 vintage of Les 12 coups de Mimi — a blend of Gewürztraminer, Muscat, Pinot Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Noir, and Sylvaner Rouge — is the flagship expression of this philosophy.
Steeve is not in a hurry. He has spent 20 years learning from trees and years learning from two masters of Alsatian biodynamics. His winemaking is patient, observational, and deeply respectful of the living systems he works with — whether in the canopy or in the cellar.
The Wines — Complanted, Co-Fermented, Communal
A small range — for now, one known cuvée — made from complanted vines in Blaesheim, vinified at a friend's domaine, and bottled as Vin de France. The wines are blends by nature, expressions of place by philosophy, and natural by conviction.
Les 12 coups de Mimi
Vin de France — Field blendA complanted field blend of Gewürztraminer, Muscat, Pinot Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Noir, and Sylvaner Rouge from Steeve's parcel in Blaesheim. The 2022 vintage — harvested manually in small crates, vinified with indigenous yeasts at a friend's domaine, bottled without filtration or additives. A wine that expresses the harmony of multiple varieties on a single terroir, in the tradition of Alsace's ancient complantation practice. Floral, complex, and alive — the kind of wine that only makes sense when you know the story behind it. €15.
Future Cuvées
Vin de France — Upcoming releasesAs Steeve's vines mature and his relationships with fellow vignerons deepen, new cuvées will emerge from the Blaesheim parcel and beyond. The philosophy will remain the same: complantation, natural farming, minimal intervention, Vin de France. The arborist turned caviste turned vigneron is just getting started.
Legacy — From Déclic Jardin to Du Vert au Vin
Steeve Zaegel represents a particular kind of French natural wine figure: the self-made convert. Not from a winemaking family, not trained in oenology school, not inheriting hectares. A man who spent 20 years in the trees, who opened a cave à vin on instinct, who apprenticed with two of Alsace's most respected biodynamic vignerons, who tends a few complanted ares and vinifies at a friend's place.
His cave in Geispolsheim — 350 references, carefully selected, passionately presented — is already a local institution. His own wines, made in tiny quantities from complanted vines, are a declaration of independence from the Alsace AOC system and a homage to the ancient practice of mixing varieties in the same parcel.
The name Du Vert au Vin is more than a pun. It is a life story: from the green of the forest to the wine of the vine, from the canopy to the cellar, from the solitary work of the arborist to the communal world of natural wine. Steeve is still early in his winemaking journey, but the roots are deep — 20 years deep in the trees, years deep in the vines. The wine will follow.