The Daughter, the Tiny House & Three Soils in the Vosges
A young vigneronne who took over her parents' farm in 2017, converted 7 hectares to biodynamics, and moved into a Tiny House at the foot of a mountain surrounded by forests, meadows, and terraced vines. Jeanne Gaston-Breton works alongside her mother in the vines, sells most of her grapes to friends like Benoît Rosenberger and Yannick Meckert, and keeps a little more each year for herself — producing delicate, nuanced, and achingly pure wines from three distinct terroirs in a forgotten pocket of Alsace.
Origin — From Family Farm to Biodynamic Paradise
Jeanne Gaston-Breton took over her family's farm in 2017 and immediately undertook the conversion of their seven hectares of vines to organic farming, and later to biodynamics. She works alongside her mother in the vines, where they focus on soil health and harnessing the incredible biodiversity of this forgotten pocket of Alsace.
The farm sits in the hamlet of Taubental, about 400 metres above sea level in the shadow of the Vosges, surrounded by forest. It is a world away from the monoculture that blights much of the region's famous wine villages — a more pastoral setting where vines share the landscape with meadows, horses, and herds of goats. In 2019 Jeanne moved into a Tiny House at the foot of the mountain, living among her terraced vineyards.
La Ferme des 9 Chemins was officially born in 2020 when she decided to renovate an old barn in Reichsfeld to serve as her cellar. The name comes from the nine paths that converge on the farm — a crossroads of sorts, fitting for a young woman who has brought together tradition and innovation, family and independence, farming and winemaking.
Her parents help a lot, but they are not so keen on her wine — they like to recognise the grape when they taste it, whereas Jeanne wants her wine to reflect the terroir. She noticed almost straight away that when she started following the phases of the moon when working with the vines, they grew stronger and more resilient. The biodynamic approach was not an ideology imposed from outside; it was a response to what the land was telling her.
The Place — Three Terroirs in a Forgotten Pocket of Alsace
Reichsfeld sits in the Bas-Rhin, about 40km southwest of Strasbourg, in a wooded and hilly landscape that feels like a different Alsace from the famous Route des Vins. The 7 hectares of old vines — Auxerrois, Sylvaner, Riesling, and Pinot Noir — are planted over three distinct terroirs: clay and limestone, sandstone of volcanic origin, and schist. The majority of the grapes are sold to friends; Jeanne keeps a little more each year for herself.
Clay & Limestone, Volcanic Sandstone, Schist
The three terroirs give the wines their distinct personalities. Clay and limestone brings structure and depth; the volcanic sandstone (grès permien & vosgien) gives a flinty, mineral edge; the blue schist brings tension and electricity. Jeanne vinifies each terroir separately, letting the soil speak through the grape.
Old Vines, Low Yields, High Biodiversity
The vines are old — many over 30 years — and the yields are naturally low. The farm is not a monoculture; meadows, forests, horses, and goats share the land with the vines. This biodiversity is not decorative — it is the foundation of the biodynamic approach, providing the plants for herbal teas and the ecosystem balance that keeps the vines healthy.
Hand & Quad, Not Tractor
Jeanne works mainly by hand and on quad — treatments, biodynamic preparations, harvesting. The use of tractors is limited and carefully considered to avoid soil compaction. The treatments are exclusively sulfur, copper, and plants harvested at 90% on the farm itself. All vineyards are within 4km of the cellar.
Grapes for Friends, Wine for Herself
The majority of the grapes are sold to talented vignerons including Benoît Rosenberger and Yannick Meckert. Since her first visits from importers, Jeanne has begun saving a little more from each harvest for her own label. The quantities are tiny, the demand is growing, and the wines are already sought from London to Tokyo.
Winemaking — Gravity, the Simplest Tools & Nothing Added
In her tiny cellar — renovated from an old barn in 2020 — Jeanne displays a real lightness of touch. She works with the simplest of tools and nothing but gravity to produce delicate, nuanced, and achingly pure wines that carry a wonderful sense of place.
The vinifications are done without any additives, without filtration, with indigenous yeasts, and with limited manipulation. Most wines see a period of skin contact or whole-bunch fermentation, then élevage in a mix of old barrels and stainless steel — typically two-thirds barrel, one-third tank, for 9 to 11 months.
The approach is not about imposing a style; it is about letting the terroir speak. Jeanne wants her wines to reflect the place, not the grape variety. Her parents may prefer to recognise the grape; she prefers to recognise the mountain, the forest, the meadow, the schist. The result is wines of rare purity and finesse — perfumed, vibrant, and alive.
The Wines — Delicate, Nuanced, Achingly Pure
A small but growing range — whites of floral lift and mineral backbone, a red of surprising delicacy, and a field blend that captures the whole farm in a bottle. All are made without additives, without filtration, with indigenous yeasts, and with the lightest of touches.
Hay ! di
Estate white100% Riesling from clay-sandy soils. Direct press, fermented and aged 11 months in stainless steel. No additives, no filtration. A perfumed, vibrant wine of real purity and finesse — lime blossom, green apple, and a stony backbone that speaks of the Vosges. The kind of Riesling that makes you forget everything you thought you knew about Alsace.
Le Chemin des Loups
Estate white (field blend)A field blend of Sylvaner, Auxerrois, and Riesling from volcanic sandstone soils (grès permien & vosgien). The Sylvaner and Auxerrois are destemmed and macerated for 6 days, then assembled with direct-press Riesling. Élevage 2/3 in old barrels, 1/3 in stainless steel for 11 months. The elegance of Riesling, the sweetness of Sylvaner, the gourmandise of Auxerrois — all in one bottle. A wine that captures the typicity of Alsace's grapes and the specificity of Taubental's terroir.
Les Terrasses — Blanc
Estate white100% Auxerrois from volcanic sandstone soils. 6 days' whole-bunch maceration, then élevage in stainless steel for 11 months. A white of surprising texture and depth — the skin contact gives it body and grip, while the sandstone terroir keeps it fresh and mineral. An Auxerrois that tastes of the forest and the stone beneath it.
Montagne de Schiste
Estate white100% Riesling from blue schist soils. Direct press, élevage 1/3 in old barrels and 2/3 in stainless steel for 11 months. The schist gives this Riesling a tension and electricity that is unmistakable — tight, mineral, with a saline finish that speaks of the mountain. The most terroir-driven of Jeanne's whites, and the one that most clearly expresses her philosophy: wine as a reflection of the soil.
Les Terrasses — Rouge
Estate red100% Pinot Noir from volcanic sandstone soils (grès permien & vosgien). 10 days' maceration — 1/3 destemmed, 2/3 whole bunch. Élevage 2/3 in old barrels, 1/3 in stainless steel on fine lees for 9 months. A delicate, nuanced Pinot of real purity — cherry, rose, and a lick of spice from the whole bunches. The cool 2024 harvest gave a classic, restrained expression; the 2023 (also available in magnum) is richer and more generous. Both are achingly pure.
Legacy — A Different Alsace, a Bright Young Star
In less than a decade, Jeanne Gaston-Breton has transformed her family's farm into one of the most exciting young estates in Alsace — and one of the most individual. She is not following the Route des Vins playbook; she is writing her own, from a Tiny House at the foot of a mountain, with her mother beside her, and the phases of the moon as her calendar.
Her wines are already exported to London, Tokyo, and beyond — sought by natural wine importers who recognise something rare: a vigneronne who listens more than she speaks, who lets the terroir do the talking, who produces wines of delicate, nuanced, achingly pure beauty from a place that most of the wine world has forgotten.
The Ferme des 9 Chemins is still young. The quantities are tiny. The cellar is a renovated barn. But the vision is clear: wine as a reflection of the land, not the grape; farming as a collaboration with nature, not a conquest of it; life as a Tiny House among the vines, not a mansion on the plain. The nine paths converge on something worth walking toward.