The Oenologist, the Kune Kune Pigs & a Vosges Vineyard Nobody Asked For
A 25-year-old oenologist who passed through Château d'Yquem, who vinifies Syrah from the Luberon and Grenache from the south in an old family barn 100 metres from his vines, who keeps three Kune Kune pigs named Achilles, Hera and Gaia as living lawnmowers, and who is planting Riesling, Savagnin and Chardonnay on 2.5 hectares of Vosges hillside to prove that Lorraine can make wine again. Jacques Bentz is not from a wine family. He is from a table family — and the table is set.
Origin — From the Table to Yquem to the Vosges
Jacques Bentz is not from a winemaking family. He is from a table family — a household where the arts of eating, drinking, and gathering were sacred. He became interested in the table arts as an adolescent, and that curiosity led him to oenology. After earning his diploma, he refined his skills in the Bordeaux — including a passage through the legendary Château d'Yquem — before working as an oenology consultant for several vignerons across France.
But Jacques wanted to make wine in his own region — the Vosges, a department in Lorraine where viticulture had become marginal over the decades. In 2023, at just 25 years old, he planted his first 1,600 vines at Saulcy-sur-Meurthe, near Saint-Dié-des-Vosges. The choice of white varieties — Chardonnay and Riesling initially, then Savagnin in 2024 — was strategic: white grapes offer the greatest flexibility, whether harvested at maturity, under-maturity, or over-maturity.
By 2025, the domaine had 1.7 hectares planted, with some vines on their fourth leaf and potentially producing their first harvest in 2026. The full 2.5 hectares should be planted by spring 2027, with full production expected by 2032. Jacques also acquired a small vineyard of post-phylloxera hybrids — a piece of living history.
In the meantime, he launched his wine merchant and producer business: buying fruit from friends and vineyards destined to be uprooted, vinifying them in the Vosges. Between 4,000 and 6,000 bottles leave the estate each year — a modest but growing production that has already found its way to natural wine bars from Strasbourg to Paris.
The Place — Kune Kune Pigs, High Density & the Vosges Cool
Saulcy-sur-Meurthe sits in the Vosges, a department of Lorraine that has seen its vineyards shrink to almost nothing over the past century. Jacques is reversing that trend — planting at Burgundian density, converting to organic immediately, and using three Kune Kune pigs as living lawnmowers. The climate is cool, the seasons are marked, and the potential is just beginning to be understood.
Achilles, Hera & Gaia — The Kune Kune Lawnmowers
Three Kune Kune pigs graze among the vines, maintaining the pastures and adding a touch of chaos to the order of the vineyard. They are not pets; they are workers — living lawnmowers that fertilise as they feed, and remind Jacques that farming is a collaboration with animals, not just a management of plants.
7,500 Vines per Hectare — Burgundian Density
The vines are planted at 1.5m × 1m spacing — 7,500 vines per hectare, closer to Burgundy than Alsace. Jacques believes this is the right compromise between ease of work and vine competition. The training is single Guyot tied flat, with severe bud thinning and green harvesting to maximise aeration and limit yields.
Organic Since Day One
All land within the estate was converted to organic farming immediately in 2022 — before the first vines were even planted. The label guarantees exclusive use of natural products. Grass strips 6 metres wide are left every five rows to promote biodiversity and cut disease transmission bridges.
The Cool Vosges Climate — A Natural Advantage
The coolness of the Vosges is a boon, not a burden. One night in crates and the grapes are ready for cold pre-fermentation. Long fermentations promote aromatic complexity; low temperatures limit bacterial spoilage. Jacques jokes that he has no need for refrigeration units — the Vosges provides them free.
Winemaking — 18 Months in Barrel, Spontaneous Fermentation & Minimal Intervention
Jacques' cellar is an old family barn, 100 metres as the crow flies from the vineyard — a place that, after installing a few stainless steel tanks and some barrels, seems to have always been a winery thanks to its thick walls and old stones. The aesthetic is rustic and rigorous: minimal intervention, but maximum attention.
All wines are made with spontaneous fermentation — indigenous yeasts, no temperature control, no enzymes, no chaptalisation. Jacques intervenes very little but remains extremely rigorous: his training as an oenologist forbids him from letting a batch deteriorate. If necessary, 1 or 2 g/hL of SO₂ is acceptable — a tiny amount, used only to save a wine, never as routine.
All wines spend 18 months in barrels — the two winters allow them to stabilise optimally. The élevage is long, patient, and classical. The result is wines of freshness, balance, and surprising depth — whether from the Vosges, the Luberon, or the south of France.
The Wines — From the Vosges, the Luberon & Beyond
A range that spans France — Syrah from the Luberon, Grenache from the south, Chenin and Riesling from friends' vineyards, all vinified in the Vosges with 18 months' barrel ageing and spontaneous fermentation. The first 100% Vosges vintage is ageing now for release in the coming years.
Naturell'mot
Vin de France — Rouge100% Syrah from a friend's vineyard in the Luberon. 23 days' classic maceration, revealing a gourmand and spicy Syrah with freshness and acidity that defy the grape's reputation for power. A wine that seduces with balance — everything well made, everything in its place. The flagship red that introduced Jacques to the natural wine world.
D'Éhontché
Vin de France — Rouge"D'Éhontché" means "to begin" in Vosges patois — and it is a beautiful entry point. The little sister of Naturell'mot: same Syrah, but an 8-day shorter maceration for an ultra-juicy juice. A bomb of fruit, notes of macerated cherries, and a drinkability that would make any sunny terrace jealous. Open without waiting — this is immediate pleasure.
Retche
Vin de France — Rouge100% Grenache from a southern vineyard destined to be uprooted — rescued by Jacques and vinified in the Vosges. A 100% southern Grenache that carries its warmth into the cool of Lorraine, balanced by the long barrel ageing and the Vosges' natural acidity. Fresh, surprising, and utterly individual — the wine that made a sommelier friend insist on visiting the domaine.
Commercial
Vin de France — White blendA blend of Grenache, Syrah and Auxerrois — or other white varieties from friends' vineyards. The "commercial" cuvée is Jacques' accessible, joyful white — made to be shared, to be drunk young, to introduce people to the Vosges project. Spontaneous fermentation, 18 months in barrel, bottled with minimal sulfur. A wine without pretension but with real craft.
Besser Rivaou Range
Alsace-leased winesWines from 1.5 hectares leased in Alsace, vinified in the Vosges. The name is a playful linguistic mash-up — "Besser" (best in Alsatian) and "Rivaou" (enemy in Vosges dialect) — reflecting the friendly rivalry between the two regions. The range allows Jacques to produce wine while his own Vosges vines mature, and to experiment with Alsatian varieties in his own cellar.
100% Vosges (First Vintage)
Estate white (upcoming)The first 100% estate-grown Vosges vintage — from Riesling, Savagnin and Chardonnay planted in 2023–2024 — is currently ageing for release in the coming years. A historic moment for Lorraine viticulture: the first commercial natural wine from the Vosges in decades, made by a 25-year-old oenologist who refused to believe the region was finished.
Legacy — Proving the Vosges Has Something to Say
Jacques Bentz is doing something that hasn't been done in the Vosges for generations: building a vineyard from nothing, with no family inheritance, no cooperative support, no appellation framework. He is a 25-year-old oenologist who passed through Yquem, who consults for other vignerons, who buys fruit from friends and rescues vines from the bulldozer, who plants at Burgundian density and keeps pigs in the rows.
His wines — Naturell'mot, D'Éhontché, Retche — are already finding their audience: natural wine bars in Strasbourg, Paris, and beyond. The Besser Rivaou range keeps the cellar full while his own vines grow. And the first 100% Vosges vintage, ageing now in the old family barn, will be a historic release — proof that Lorraine can produce wine again, and that a young man with a diploma and a dream can change the map of French viticulture.
The Vosges has been written off as a wine region for decades. Jacques Bentz is writing it back in — one pig, one vine, one barrel at a time. The table is set. The wine is coming.