Pet o Kask

Pet O Kask 2023

Region: Alsace, France

Grape: 40% Pinot Blanc, 40% Pinot Gris, 20% Gewürztraminer

Color: Orange, lightly sparkling

Pinkish-orange color reminiscent of peach skin, fine bubbles, aromas of white peach, nectarine, and tomato, a slightly crackling attack, dry with a good balance of moderate acidity and pleasant bitterness.

This is a méthode ancestrale wine made by macerating and pressing Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, and Gewürztraminer, then fermenting them in stainless steel tanks and bottling them while residual sugar remains.
Unfiltered, unfined, and with no added SO2.

【Producer Information】

The KLEINKNECHT family, a prestigious lineage spanning seven generations, is based in MITTELBERGHEIM, a small village in the Bas-Rhin department of Strasbourg. The eldest son, André Kleinknecht, born on August 4, 1968, began assisting at the winery in 1991. With over 25 years of experience as a winemaker, he is a vibrant and highly skilled producer.
His father retired in 2002, and André took over completely. At that time, the estate was 7.5 hectares, but he gradually acquired more land and now owns 9.5 hectares. He transitioned to organic farming in 1998 and to biodynamic farming in 2012. He applied for Demeter certification in 2014. Bottling began in his grandfather's era, and his father cultivated the fields with horses.

Although he no longer keeps horses, he occasionally plows parts of the fields with a friend's horse. The vineyards are organic, but the transition to natural wine is recent. More than half of his wines are organic, but they are not natural wines in the sense of strict adherence to winemaking processes. He knew about wines without SO2 but hesitated to commit. Then, he met Christian Binner and Patrick Meyer, which inspired him to "try it myself!" As you know, young producers in the Jura and Alsace regions are increasingly making natural wines. While Alsace has always been a stronghold of biodynamics, it took some time for it to spread widely. However, with producers like André stepping into the world of natural wine, a new era is dawning.
　
Pinot Blanc 33%, Riesling 29%, Pinot Gris 9%, Muscat 1%, Gewürztraminer 10%, Pinot Noir 8%, Chardonnay 2%, Sylvaner 2%, and other 6%.

He studied wine at a local agricultural high school but laughingly admitted he had forgotten everything he learned there and found it impractical. He embraced organic farming in 1998, when few producers did, and taught himself through practical experience. He is a self-made winemaker who learned more in the vineyards than in school. His father used chemical fertilizers, and André acquired his cultivation methods by observing and listening more than by following his father's practices. He switched to natural wine in 2015, and his passion and knowledge for the vineyards are immense.

With a meticulous German-like personality, he carries out each task carefully and precisely. Therefore, it is certain that the quality of his wines will improve year after year.