The Schist Slope & the Free Estate
Maison Moritz Prado is a rare new estate in Alsace — founded from scratch in 2018 by Ghislain Moritz, an Alsatian winemaker with a Burgundian education and a Romanian cellar past, and Angela Prado, a Colombian finance professional turned wine master. Perched at 400–500 metres in the Vosges foothills above the Vallée de Villé, their 4.85 hectares of steep schist vineyards are farmed organically and biodynamically, tilled by horse, harvested by hand into small crates, and vinified parcel by parcel with indigenous yeasts, zero added sulfites, and a conviction that everything is possible.
Ghislain & Angela & the Uninherited Estate
The story of Maison Moritz Prado begins in 2018 — not with inheritance, but with deliberate, almost rebellious creation. In Alsace, where the vast majority of wine estates are passed down through generations, Ghislain Moritz and Angela Prado did something almost unheard of: they founded their domaine from scratch. Ghislain, a native Alsatian, was not born into a winemaking family. At eighteen, he left for New Zealand and Australia, experiences that crystallised his desire to dedicate his life to nature and agriculture. He later trained in Burgundy — at the highly regarded Château de Chamirey, at the Lycée Viticole de Beaune, and at the Faculty of Oenology in Dijon — absorbing the rigorous, terroir-obsessed culture of the Côte d'Or. Stints in Portugal's Douro Valley and Romania followed, each adding a layer of technical and philosophical complexity to his approach.
Angela Prado was born in Colombia and raised in the United States. She arrived in France in 2008 to pursue a master's degree in International Finance — a path that seemed far removed from viticulture until she met Ghislain. She followed him to Romania, where they spent eight formative years at Domaine Avincis in the Carpathian Mountains: Ghislain as cellar master managing fifty hectares, Angela collaborating on winemaking, business development, marketing, exports, and wine tourism across Europe and Asia. Driven by a desire to deepen her knowledge, Angela returned to Burgundy for a Master's in Wine and Spirits in Dijon — a qualification that transformed her from finance professional to wine expert.
The decision to return to Alsace was personal and pivotal. Following the birth of their first child, with a second on the way, Ghislain and Angela chose to leave the Carpathians and put down roots in Ghislain's homeland. After an exhaustive search, they found Albé — a village perched between 400 and 500 metres above sea level in the Vallée de Villé, in the foothills of the Vosges Mountains. The property was small, the slopes were steep, the soils were schist, and there was no family history to guide them. They began converting to organic viticulture immediately, and are now in conversion to biodynamics. The estate is fully independent — a project that stands out in Alsace precisely because it was not inherited, allowing them to showcase the expertise and inspiration gained from their international experiences without the weight of ancestral expectation.
The name of the estate reflects this union of origins: Maison Moritz Prado — French structure, Alsatian roots, Colombian spirit. Their philosophy is distilled in the name of their experimental range: Nous Sommes Libres — "We Are Free." This is not merely branding; it is a declaration of intent. They believe that winemaking is an act of freedom, a dialogue between human intent and natural expression, and that "everything is possible" when respect for the living soil is the guiding principle. The couple speaks French, English, and Spanish, and their cosmopolitan background infuses every aspect of the project — from the vineyard to the cellar to the export market.
"Everything is possible."
— Ghislain Moritz & Angela Prado
Albé & the Vallée de Villé & the Vosges Schist
Albé is a village in the Vallée de Villé, a side valley of the Vosges Mountains in Alsace — a region whose wine reputation is dominated by the famous Route des Vins and the grand cru vineyards of the Rhine plain. Yet Albé occupies a different Alsace: higher, steeper, more mountainous, and geologically distinct. At 400 to 500 metres above sea level, the village sits in the foothills of the Vosges, where the climate is cooler, the rainfall is higher, and the soils are dominated by schist rather than the alluvial gravels and limestone of the valley floor. This is not the Alsace of tourist buses and postcard villages; it is the Alsace of forest, slope, and silence — an environment that demands physical labour and rewards it with wines of exceptional minerality and freshness.
The terroir of Maison Moritz Prado is defined by a single, obsessive focus: schist. The 4.85 hectares of vineyards are planted on steep slopes of this metamorphic rock — a soil that is poor in organic matter, excellent at drainage, and capable of imprinting a flinty, almost gunpowder-like minerality on every wine. Schist fractures easily, allowing vine roots to penetrate deep into the subsoil in search of water and minerals; the resulting stress produces small berries with thick skins and intense concentration. The steepness of the slopes is not merely scenic; it is agricultural — everything must be done by hand or with the assistance of a horse, as mechanisation is impossible on gradients this severe. The altitude slows ripening, preserves natural acidity, and creates the marked diurnal temperature range that is essential for aromatic complexity and structural balance.
The climate of the Vallée de Villé is continental-mountainous: cold, snowy winters; mild, wet springs; and summers that are warm but never torrid, thanks to the elevation and the forested massif of the Vosges that rises behind the village. The cool nights give relief to the vines after the warm days, creating the conditions for slow, even phenolic ripeness without the loss of acidity that plagues lower-lying vineyards. The rainfall is adequate for dry farming — the estate does not irrigate — and the schist's capacity to retain and release moisture sustains the vines through the driest summer months. For Ghislain and Angela, these conditions are ideal for their minimal-intervention philosophy: the grapes arrive at the winery with low pH, high acidity, and pristine health — the natural defences that allow them to vinify without preservatives.
Viticulture at Moritz Prado is organic and biodynamic — certified organic, with full biodynamic conversion underway. The soil work is done manually or with the help of a horse, a practice that preserves soil structure, prevents erosion on the steep slopes, and maintains the microbial life that is essential for biodynamic health. A robust cover crop is fostered between the vine rows — legumes, grasses, and wildflowers that fix nitrogen, prevent erosion, and create competition among the vines, forcing the roots to dive deeper into the schist in search of nutrients. This is not merely sustainable agriculture; it is regenerative viticulture, designed to improve the soil with each passing vintage rather than depleting it. All harvesting is manual, carried out into small crates to prevent bruising and oxidation, and all fermentation relies on indigenous yeasts — a commitment to biodiversity that extends from the soil to the cellar.
Rare new estate founded from scratch in 2018 by Ghislain Moritz (Alsatian) and Angela Prado (Colombian). Located in Albé, a village perched at 400–500m in the Vosges foothills above the Vallée de Villé. ~4.85 hectares of steep schist vineyards. Organic certified; biodynamic conversion underway. Horse-drawn tillage and manual harvesting. Indigenous yeasts. No added sulfites. Three wine ranges: Terroir de Roche, Sélections Parcellaires, Nous Sommes Libres. Fully independent project — uncommon in Alsace where most estates are inherited.
Soils are pure schist — metamorphic rock, poor in organic matter, excellent drainage, flinty minerality. Steep slopes make mechanisation impossible; all work by hand or horse. Schist fractures easily, allowing deep root penetration and natural water retention. Altitude (400–500m) slows ripening and preserves acidity. Marked diurnal range for aromatic complexity. Continental-mountainous climate with cold winters and mild summers. Dry-farmed; no irrigation. The schist imprints a gunpowder-like, stony freshness on every wine — the signature of the estate.
Certified organic; converting to biodynamics. Soil work by hand or with horse to preserve structure and prevent erosion on steep slopes. Robust cover crop between rows — legumes, grasses, wildflowers — for nitrogen fixation, erosion control, and root competition. Hand-harvested into small crates. Indigenous yeasts only. No synthetic treatments. The vineyard is treated as a living system where biodiversity is the primary tool of viticulture. Regenerative rather than merely sustainable — the soil improves with each vintage.
The Vallée de Villé is a side valley of the Vosges, distinct from the famous Rhine-plain vineyards. Cooler, wetter, more mountainous. Forested Vosges massif provides thermal moderation and humidity. Cold nights preserve acidity; warm days develop aromatics. The microclimate is a natural ally for sulfurless winemaking: grapes arrive with low pH, high acidity, and pristine health. This is not the Alsace of tourist postcards but the Alsace of physical labour and mineral reward — a terroir that demands respect and repays it with wines of exceptional clarity and tension.
Indigenous Yeasts & the Parcel Vessel
The winemaking philosophy at Maison Moritz Prado is governed by a commitment to transparency and parcel-specific expression. Ghislain and Angela do not blend anonymously across sites; they vinify parcel by parcel, matching each vineyard block to the vessel that best reveals its character. The cellar is equipped with stainless steel tanks, oak barrels, and sandstone or ceramic amphorae — a deliberately diverse arsenal that allows them to experiment with texture, oxygen exchange, and ageing dynamics. The choice of vessel is not arbitrary; it is a response to the specific personality of each plot, each variety, and each vintage. This is winemaking as curation — the careful selection of the right container for the right expression.
All fermentations are spontaneous, initiated by the indigenous yeasts that inhabit the organically farmed vineyards and the cellar itself. Ghislain and Angela follow the wine's own rhythm — spontaneous fermentation can take a while, and they do not rush it with temperature spikes or commercial inoculations. They prefer small vessels for fermentation, believing that smaller volumes allow greater control, more intimate contact between yeast and juice, and a more precise translation of terroir. The combination of stainless steel (for purity and freshness), oak (for subtle textural integration), and amphora (for slow oxidation and earthy complexity) gives the estate an unusually broad palette of expression for its size.
The sulfur question is answered with radical clarity: the wines contain no added sulfites. Stability is achieved through pristine organic fruit, careful temperature management, and the natural acidity that the schist and altitude provide. The wines are unfiltered and unfined — a choice that preserves the living texture, the subtle haze, and the microbial complexity that filtration would strip away. For the Nous Sommes Libres range, this philosophy is pushed to its extreme: experimental cuvées with no added sulfur, no filtration, and no compromise — wines that are as close to the vineyard as the bottle allows. The Terroir de Roche range offers the estate's most expressive, fresh, and mineral cuvées — the pure voice of schist. The Sélections Parcellaires range highlights specific plots, allowing drinkers to taste the nuances of individual micro-sites within the Albé slopes.
The finishing practices reflect the couple's international background and their local commitment. Bottling is done with care, but not with sterility — the wines are alive, and they are meant to evolve in bottle. The labels are clean and modern, reflecting the estate's cosmopolitan identity rather than the traditional Alsatian aesthetic of Gothic script and village scenes. The result is a portfolio of wines that are simultaneously wild and refined — complex, powerful, and elegant, yet possessed of a vitality and freedom that distinguishes them from the more conventional expressions of Alsace. Ghislain and Angela have created a new model for the region: not inherited, not imitative, but deeply rooted and fearlessly modern.
Nous Sommes Libres & the Experimental Range
The Nous Sommes Libres line is the soul of Maison Moritz Prado — a range of experimental wines that embodies the estate's founding declaration: "We Are Free." These cuvées receive no added sulfites, no filtration, and no fining. They are the most radical expression of Ghislain and Angela's belief that wine should be a dialogue between human intent and natural expression, not a product of chemical correction and industrial standardisation. The range includes a pétillant naturel made from a blend of Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris, Riesling, and Pinot Blanc — a sparkling wine that captures the aromatic diversity of Alsace in a single, effervescent, unfiltered bottle. Each Nous Sommes Libres release is a snapshot of a specific vintage, a specific parcel, and a specific creative impulse — never to be repeated, always to be discovered. For collectors and adventurous drinkers, these wines represent the frontier of Alsatian natural wine: free, vibrant, and possessed of a strong personality that defies categorisation.
The Portfolio & the Cuvées
Maison Moritz Prado produces a focused, terroir-driven portfolio from its 4.85 hectares of steep schist vineyards in Albé. The range is organised into three distinct lines — Terroir de Roche, Sélections Parcellaires, and Nous Sommes Libres — each reflecting a different facet of the estate's philosophy. All wines are made from indigenous yeasts, with no added sulfites, and most are neither filtered nor fined. The focus is on dry wines that express both the altitude and the schist character of the Vosges foothills: Riesling, Sylvaner, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc, and Gewürztraminer, handled with a Burgundian attention to parcel and a Romanian sense of creative freedom. The following represents the core cuvées, with the understanding that the experimental nature of Nous Sommes Libres guarantees constant evolution.
"Maison Moritz Prado stands out as a rare new estate in Alsace founded outside the region's traditional inheritance system — independent, thoughtful, and devoted to terroir-driven, living wines."
— The Grape Reset
The Uninherited Alsatian & the Free Estate
To understand Maison Moritz Prado, one must understand the concept of the uninherited Alsatian — a viticultural identity that is almost unique in a region where land, vines, and cellar keys are passed down through generations like heirlooms. Ghislain Moritz is a native of Alsace, but not from a winemaking family. He did not inherit a vineyard; he chose one. He did not learn his craft from his father; he learned it in Burgundy, in New Zealand, in Australia, in Portugal, and in Romania. Angela Prado is Colombian — an outsider by birth who became an insider through choice, study, and love. Together, they have created a domaine that is simultaneously deeply Alsatian and profoundly cosmopolitan — rooted in the schist of Albé yet informed by the terroirs of the world.
The free estate identity that they have established is not merely a marketing posture; it is a structural fact. Because they founded the estate from scratch, they are free from the weight of ancestral expectation, free from the obligation to replicate a grandfather's style, free from the pressure to maintain a family reputation built over centuries. This freedom allows them to experiment with amphorae, to bottle without sulfites, to plant Pinot Noir in a region dominated by white varieties, to create a pét-nat from four grape varieties, and to name their experimental range "We Are Free" without irony. It allows them to speak French, English, and Spanish in the cellar and the tasting room. It allows them to be simultaneously traditional and radical — Burgundian in their parcel precision, Romanian in their creative ambition, Alsatian in their varietal fidelity, and Colombian in their warmth and openness.
The future of Maison Moritz Prado is tied to the deepening of Ghislain and Angela's relationship with their Albé terroir — the completion of their biodynamic conversion, the refinement of their parcel-based vinification, the development of new cuvées that explore the full potential of Riesling, Sylvaner, Pinot Gris, and Pinot Noir on Vosges schist, and the strengthening of their position in export markets as ambassadors for a side of Alsace that most wine drinkers have yet to discover. The estate will remain small — 4.85 hectares, hand-tended, horse-ploughed — because scale is not the goal; expression is. The Terroir de Roche line will continue to offer the pure, mineral voice of schist. The Sélections Parcellaires will continue to map the micro-terroirs of Albé with increasing precision. The Nous Sommes Libres range will continue to push boundaries, test assumptions, and prove that "everything is possible" when respect for the living soil is the only constraint.
In an age of industrial wine production, of chemical agriculture and marketing-driven branding, Maison Moritz Prado stands as a compelling alternative — not because it rejects tradition but because it has embraced a different tradition, one that values founding over inheritance, international experience over local insularity, biodynamic horse-ploughing over chemical convenience, indigenous yeasts over laboratory inoculation, zero sulfites over chemical stability, amphora over new-barrel toast, and the specific voice of Albé over the standardised replication of a global style. Ghislain Moritz and Angela Prado are not merely making wine; they are making an argument — for the uninherited estate, for the Colombian in Alsace, for the schist slope, for the free cuvée, and for the possibility that a young couple with a Burgundian diploma, a Romanian cellar past, and a baby on the way can produce wines that are as authentic, as alive, and as necessary as anything from the world's most celebrated appellations. The 2018 founding, the Carpathian departure, the exhaustive search, the 4.85 hectares, the horse, the schist, the zero sulfites, the Nous Sommes Libres, and the name that has meant freedom in Albé for a new generation: all united in one bottle, one estate, one unanswerable argument for the future of Alsace.
Almost unique in Alsace — a region where estates are passed down like heirlooms. Ghislain is a native Alsatian but not from a winemaking family; he learned his craft in Burgundy, New Zealand, Australia, Portugal, and Romania. Angela is Colombian — an outsider who became an insider through choice and study. Together they founded the estate from scratch in 2018, free from ancestral expectation and the obligation to replicate a grandfather's style. This structural freedom allows them to experiment with amphorae, zero sulfites, Pinot Noir in white Alsace, and four-grape pét-nats. Deeply Alsatian yet profoundly cosmopolitan.
Not a marketing posture but a structural fact. The estate is fully independent — rare in a region of inherited domaines. The Nous Sommes Libres range is a declaration of intent: "We Are Free." Biodynamic horse-ploughing, indigenous yeasts, no added sulfites, unfiltered wines, parcel-based vinification, and a conviction that "everything is possible." Burgundian precision meets Romanian creativity meets Alsatian varietal fidelity meets Colombian warmth. The free estate is not merely a winery; it is an argument for a new model of Alsatian viticulture — founded, not inherited; chosen, not received; and directed by the voice of the schist slope rather than the weight of family history.