The Carpenter's Hand & the Grange of Charles
Morgane Stoquert & Jérôme François are the vignerons behind La Grange de l'Oncle Charles — one of the most original and exciting estates in contemporary Alsace. Founded in 2014 by Jérôme, a carpenter-turned-sommelier-turned-vigneron, and joined by Morgane in 2020, the domaine is based in Ostheim in the Haut-Rhin. From a few rows of vines inherited from his grandfather and a rustic barn belonging to his great-uncle Charles, Jérôme has built a 7-hectare biodynamic estate that farms 13 varieties in complantation across six villages — including parcels in the legendary Grand Cru Kaefferkopf and Schoenenbourg. The vineyards are worked exclusively by two draft horses, Sirus and Fastoche, and a flock of black Ouessant sheep that graze between the rows. All wines are Vin de France — a deliberate choice, since complantation is forbidden by AOC regulations — and are raised for one to two years in barrels of 225 to 400 litres on their lees, with native yeasts, no inputs, and minimal sulphur. The result is a range of wines that are precise, digestible, and profoundly alive — field blends of rare intensity and mineral clarity that have become benchmarks of the new natural Alsace.
The Carpenter & the Call of the Vine
The story of La Grange de l'Oncle Charles begins with Jérôme François, a young carpenter who trained in the trade before discovering, almost by accident, the world of wine. Working as a sommelier in a restaurant, he was captivated by the complexity and emotion of great bottles — and by the realisation that the finest wines were those that spoke most honestly of their place. In 2014, he made a decision that changed his life: he would leave the kitchen and the workshop, return to his roots in Alsace, and become a vigneron.
He started with almost nothing — a few arpents of vines bequeathed by his grandfather and a rustic barn belonging to his great-uncle Charles, a farmer after whom the domaine is named. The barn became the cellar; the vines became the foundation. Jérôme settled in Ostheim, a quiet village in the Haut-Rhin, and began farming according to biodynamic principles, influenced by the great Alsatian tradition of Marcel Deiss and the philosophy of complantation. In 2017, he teamed up with Yann Bury, a fellow vigneron who shared his vision of horse-ploughed, high-density vineyards. And in 2020, Morgane Stoquert joined as partner, bringing her energy and sensibility to the project. Together, they have transformed a modest family inheritance into one of the most distinctive estates in Alsace.
Jérôme does not believe in single-varietal wines. For him, the complantation of multiple varieties in the same parcel — the traditional Alsatian method abandoned in the 1940s in favour of mono-cépage AOC conformity — is the only way to produce wines of true terroir. He has replanted ancient and nearly forgotten Alsatian varieties alongside the classics, creating vineyards that function as living villages: children, adolescents, adults, and elders growing together in a natural community. This philosophy, radical in its simplicity, has earned the estate a devoted following among natural wine enthusiasts and a place in the Revue du Vin de France Guide Vert.
"My models are the old Alsatian vignerons. For them, the vineyard was a village — each parcel a community of varieties living together."
— Jérôme François
Ostheim & the Six Villages
The domaine's 7 hectares of vines are scattered across six villages in the heart of Alsace's most prestigious wine country: Ostheim, Riquewihr, Schoenenbourg, Rodern, Zellenberg, Ammerschwihr, and Hunawihr. This patchwork of terroirs is one of the estate's defining characteristics — rather than a single contiguous block, Jérôme and Morgane work a constellation of small parcels, each with its own soil, exposure, and microclimate. The vineyards include parcels within the Grand Cru Kaefferkopf (Ammerschwihr) and the Grand Cru Schoenenbourg (Riquewihr), two of the most celebrated sites in Alsace.
The soils are as varied as the villages: granite, limestone, sandstone, clay, and marl — a geological patchwork that reflects the complex tectonic history of the Vosges foothills. The Kaefferkopf parcels sit on deep granitic soils with limestone intrusions, producing wines of structure and mineral power. The Schoenenbourg slopes are famed for their limestone and clay, giving wines of finesse and floral elegance. The Rodern parcels contribute granite and sandstone, while Zellenberg and Riquewihr offer a mix of clay, limestone, and yellow sandstone. This diversity is amplified by the complanted varieties: Riesling, Sylvaner, Gewürztraminer, Chasselas, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Auxerrois, Muscat, Pinot Noir, and nearly forgotten ancient varieties — each parcel a living archive of Alsatian viticultural history.
All vineyard work is done without tractors. Two draft horses — Sirus and Fastoche — plough the soil, while a flock of black Ouessant sheep graze between the rows, controlling weeds and providing organic fertiliser. The vines are treated only with plant decoctions and medicinal herbs, and the high-density plantings (with individual vines replaced each year as needed) create a natural competition that keeps yields low and quality high. The average vine age is around 60 years, and yields are restricted to approximately 20–25 hectolitres per hectare. The result is fruit of extraordinary concentration and mineral complexity — grapes that enter the cellar already tasting of the six villages and the granite beneath them.
The Kaefferkopf is one of Alsace's most prestigious Grand Crus, a south-facing amphitheatre above Ammerschwihr where granite and limestone soils produce wines of remarkable structure and mineral depth. Jérôme and Morgane's parcel here — the source of their flagship La Montagne du Scarabée — is co-planted with Riesling and Pinot Gris on deep granitic soils with full east exposure. The altitude, the granite, and the limestone combine to create a wine of seve, power, and extraordinary dry extract. The Kaefferkopf is the muscular heart of the estate — a terroir that demands patience and rewards it with wines of Grand Cru ambition bottled as Vin de France.
Schoenenbourg is the refined counterpart to Kaefferkopf's power — a Grand Cru above Riquewihr where limestone and clay soils produce wines of floral elegance, delicate minerality, and exceptional ageing potential. The Hausherrs' parcel here, source of La Belle Colline, is a south-facing slope of old vines planted with a field blend of all the estate's white varieties. The limestone lends a chalky, saline quality to the wine, while the clay provides body and texture. Schoenenbourg is the estate's most delicate and mineral expression — a wine of rose petal, lychee, and chalk that demonstrates the finesse side of Alsatian terroir.
The parcels in Rodern, Zellenberg, and the lower slopes of Riquewihr contribute granite, sandstone, and clay soils that produce wines of vibrant acidity and stony freshness. Rodern's granite and sandstone give the Pinot Noir and red blends their rusty, iron-like mineral character. Zellenberg's mixed soils provide the backbone for the Mille Lieux cuvées — the estate's broad, panoramic blends. And Riquewihr's historic slopes, with their yellow sandstone and clay, contribute to the old-vine complexity of La Danse des Corbeaux. Together, these villages form the geographical and geological chorus that gives the estate its distinctive voice.
The estate is farmed biodynamically without certification, following the lunar calendar and treating the vineyard as a self-sustaining ecosystem. Sirus and Fastoche, the two draft horses, plough the soil without compacting it, preserving the microbial life that chemical agriculture destroys. The black Ouessant sheep graze between the rows, their small size preventing damage to the vines while their manure enriches the soil. Treatments are limited to plant decoctions and medicinal herbs — no synthetic chemicals, no systemic fungicides, no commercial fertilisers. Jérôme and Morgane believe that the attention they give to the vines, the animals, and the soil is directly perceptible in the wines: "We are certain that the particular attention we bring to the vines with our animals, respecting the soul of the plants, the earth, and the environment, participates in the sensations and sensitivity that one can find in our wines."
Complantation & the Barrel Village
The cellar philosophy of La Grange de l'Oncle Charles is one of radical simplicity and extended patience. All grapes are hand-harvested from the complanted parcels and transported to the barn in Ostheim. Because the varieties are mixed in the vineyard, they are harvested and pressed together — field blends by nature, not by design. The juice is gently pressed and transferred to barrels of 225 to 400 litres, where it ferments spontaneously with indigenous yeasts and ages on its lees for one to two years. There is no temperature control, no selected yeast, no enzymes, and no chaptalisation.
The extended barrel ageing — longer than most Alsatian whites — is a deliberate choice. Jérôme believes that time on lees in neutral wood is the best way to develop texture, complexity, and mineral depth without the masking effect of new oak or the sterility of stainless steel. The wines are not filtered, and sulphur is kept to an absolute minimum — typically around 20mg/L total SO₂, with zero free sulphur at bottling. The result is wines that are alive, slightly reductive in their youth, and profoundly expressive of their terroir.
The estate's refusal to conform to AOC regulations means that all wines are bottled as Vin de France — even those from Grand Cru vineyards. This is not a rejection of terroir but a defence of it: the AOC system forbids complantation, and Jérôme will not sacrifice his vision of the vineyard as a village for the sake of a label. The wines are named after lieux-dits translated from Alsatian — evocative, poetic names that speak of place rather than grape. The result is a portfolio of extraordinary originality — wines that are at once deeply traditional (in their farming and their complantation) and fiercely modern (in their refusal of appellation conformity and their natural winemaking).
Native Yeasts, Extended Lees Ageing & the Minimal Hand
The guiding principle of La Grange de l'Oncle Charles is that the vineyard is a village, and the cellar is its continuation. The biodynamic farming provides healthy, complex grapes. The hand harvest provides pristine fruit. The complantation provides a natural balance of sugars, acids, and aromatics that no single variety can achieve alone. The gentle pressing provides clear, mineral-rich juice. The spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts provides energy and site-specificity. The extended ageing on lees in neutral barrels provides texture, depth, and a subtle, savoury complexity. And the minimal sulphur — far below organic limits — provides a wine that is alive, transparent, and deeply expressive of its Alsatian terroir. The cellar is not a factory of styles; it is a single, repeated gesture of respect, allowing the granite, limestone, and clay of six villages to speak with their own voices.
Mille Lieux, Montagne du Scarabée & the Danse des Corbeaux
La Grange de l'Oncle Charles produces approximately 25,000 bottles per year across a compact, focused portfolio of white, orange, and red wines. Each cuvée is named after a lieu-dit or an evocative Alsatian phrase, and all are bottled as Vin de France — a testament to the estate's commitment to complantation over conformity. The wines are characterised by precision, energy, and a distinctive mineral clarity that has made them benchmarks of the new natural Alsace. Production is strictly limited; many cuvées number only a few hundred or a few thousand bottles.
The Complanted Village & the Future of Alsace
Morgane Stoquert and Jérôme François are not merely making wine; they are restoring a lost vision of Alsatian viticulture. In a region that has become synonymous with varietal labelling, technical precision, and Grand Cru monoculture, they have proven that the oldest traditions — complantation, horse-ploughing, sheep grazing, extended barrel ageing — can produce the most modern and vital wines. Their refusal of the AOC system, their embrace of Vin de France status, and their commitment to biodynamic farming have set a new standard for what natural wine in Alsace can be: not a rebellion against tradition, but a return to its deepest roots.
The legacy of La Grange de l'Oncle Charles is the legacy of a carpenter who looked at a barn and saw a destiny. Jérôme began with a few rows of inherited vines and a vision of the vineyard as a village. Morgane joined him, and together they have built an estate that is human-scaled, animal-powered, and profoundly alive. Their wines — precise, digestible, nourishing, and marked by levels of volatile acidity that testify to their natural fermentation — have become benchmarks of the new Alsace, sought after in Paris, London, Copenhagen, and New York by drinkers who understand that the best bottle is the one that needs no explanation, only a glass and an open mind.
The future is one of continuity and gentle expansion. As the old vines of Riquewihr and Kaefferkopf accumulate another year of biodynamic wisdom, as the solera reserve deepens in complexity, and as Morgane and Jérôme continue to replant ancient varieties and refine their craft, La Grange de l'Oncle Charles remains what it has always intended to be: a grange — a barn — where the simplest tools and the most patient hands produce wines of extraordinary depth and truth. The story of Morgane Stoquert and Jérôme François is the story of a couple who looked at the modern wine world and chose the past — not out of nostalgia, but out of conviction — and who proved that the past, when lived with integrity, is always the future.
"We are certain that the particular attention we bring to the vines with our animals, respecting the soul of the plants, the earth, and the environment, participates in the sensations and sensitivity that one can find in our wines."
— Morgane Stoquert & Jérôme François