The Circular Hand & the Grand Cru of Mëralla

The story of Michèle Ramponi is inseparable from that of Christian Binner and the Domaine Binner in Ammerschwihr — one of the most important natural wine estates in Alsace. The Binner family has farmed in the Haut-Rhin since 1770, and Christian, who took over in 1999, transformed the estate into a beacon of biodynamic, zero-sulphur viticulture. Inspired by his friendship with Marcel Lapierre, Christian built a unique anthroposophic cellar and proved that Alsace could produce wines of profound terroir transparency without any additives. From 2012 to 2022, all Binner estate wines were made without added sulphites at any stage.

Alongside this estate work, Christian was a co-founder of Les Vins Pirouettes — the influential natural wine collective that helped neighbouring organic growers find their voice. But by 2023, he had sold his shares in Pirouettes, preferring to concentrate on his own estate and a new, more intimate project with Michèle. Mëralla was born — a smaller, higher-end négociant venture focused exclusively on Alsace Grand Cru terroirs, with Michèle as its creative and philosophical driving force.

Michèle's vision for Mëralla was never limited to wine. In 2018, she began reviving old forgotten orchards around Ammerschwihr, recognising that the health of the land extended beyond the vineyard rows. This led to the creation of a circular economy network involving twelve Alsatian natural winegrowers — including Stéphane Bannwarth of Domaine Bannwarth, who serves as the project's technical eye. Together, they began recovering what the wine industry typically discards: grape seeds, pressed into precious oil for gastronomy and cosmetics; verjuice, the tart juice of unripe grapes, produced since 2023 under the guidance of Sylvain Grundlinger of Trouvailles & Terroirs; and the development of a waterless cosmetic line that channels the antioxidant power of the vine into pure, natural beauty. For Michèle, Mëralla is a circle — from the Grand Cru vineyard to the bottle, from the grape seed to the skin, from the orchard to the table.

The winemaking philosophy of Mëralla is governed by a single, uncompromising charter: RARE — Nothing Added, Nothing Removed. This is not merely a slogan; it is a binding commitment that governs every stage of the wine's journey from vine to bottle. Grapes are hand-harvested from biodynamic Grand Cru vineyards, transported to the cellar in Ammerschwihr, and vinified with indigenous yeasts in a combination of stainless steel tanks, concrete vats, and old oak barrels. There is no selected yeast, no enzymes, no chaptalisation, no acidification, no fining, no filtration, and absolutely no added sulphur at any stage.

The wines ferment at their own pace, guided by the temperature of the cellar and the rhythm of the seasons. They age on their lees — sometimes for extended periods — developing texture, complexity, and a natural stability that no chemical additive can replicate. The result is wines of extraordinary transparency and vitality — Rieslings of laser-like mineral precision, Gewürztraminers of heady aromatic complexity, Pinot Gris of silken texture, and field blends that capture the full spectrum of Alsatian terroir in a single bottle.

Michèle and Christian believe that the Grand Cru terroirs of Alsace deserve this level of respect. In a region where many Grand Cru wines are heavily sulphured, technically manipulated, and stripped of their natural character, Mëralla offers a radical alternative: Grand Cru wines that are alive, naked, and honest. The RARE charter is not a limitation; it is a liberation — a declaration that the finest terroirs, when farmed biodynamically and handled with patience, need no help from the laboratory to achieve greatness.

Michèle Ramponi is not merely making wine; she is redefining what a wine estate can be in the 21st century. In a world where viticulture is often extractive — taking from the soil, discarding the by-products, and selling a single commodity — she has created a model of circular abundance where the vineyard gives wine, oil, verjuice, cosmetics, and beauty in equal measure. Her partnership with Christian Binner has produced not only some of the finest natural wines in Alsace but a philosophy of balance that extends from the cellar to the skin, from the table to the soul.

The legacy of Mëralla is the legacy of a woman who looked at the waste of the wine industry and saw potential. Grape seeds, once discarded, became precious oil. Unripe grapes, once ignored, became verjuice. Forgotten orchards, once abandoned, became biodiversity corridors. And the Grand Crus of Alsace, once dominated by technical, sulphured wines, became the source of living, naked, honest bottles that prove terroir needs no additives to speak. The developing range of waterless cosmetics — formulated with grape seed oil and other natural vineyard extracts — represents the next chapter: a beauty industry that is regenerative rather than destructive, circular rather than linear.

The future of Mëralla is one of deepening and expansion. As the circular economy network grows, as new Grand Cru terroirs are explored through the RARE charter, and as the cosmetics line reaches consumers who have never tasted Alsatian wine, Michèle's vision will continue to inspire. The estate will remain what it has always intended to be: a circle — from the vineyard to the bottle, from the seed to the skin, from the earth to the table. The story of Michèle Ramponi is the story of a woman who looked at the modern wine world and asked not "What can we extract?" but "What can we regenerate?" — and who proved that the answer is everything.