The Schoenheitz family left Austria and settled in Wihr-au-Val and its environs after the 30-year-old war in 1648. It is an old and notable family: the records indicate that an ancestor was' Schultheiss', mayor of the village of Wihr-au-Val before the French Revolution ...
During the Middle Ages the vineyards of Wihr-au-Val belonged to the famous Habsbourg and Ribeaupierre families and already had a reputation for producing quality wines. Nestled in the heart of the Munster valley, the location fulfilled all the conditions for a brilliant future in the soil of Alsace. Unfortunately, the vicissitudes of history destroyed that future, leaving nothing but devastation at the end of World War II.
During the 1970’s, Henri Schoenheitz senior, passionate about history and in love with the area where he was born, undertook the rebirth of this lovely vineyard which had been nearly wiped out. Slowly, as at the time the area was under mixed agricultural usage, he retraced the original contours of the vineyards at Wihr-au-Val whose legitimacy had been all but forgotten. Preparing the soil and replanting the steep hillsides was a difficult undertaking and is still pursued by Henri junior, assisted by his wife Dominique.
In 1980 Dominique and the younger Henri Schoenheitz, both fresh graduates in oenology and viticulture, launched themselves into their first harvests. The wines of Schoenheitz were yet to be created. For them it was like the pleasure of a blank page waiting to be written on. These young vintners, the only independent wine makers in the village, quickly began defining their style: sustainable agriculture as a method to create epicurean wines.
In 1995, a first award: "vingt sur vins" crowned fifteen years of passion and determination. Since then, they have multiplied: Guide Bettane & Desseauve, Guide Hachette, Le Point, Wine Spectator, Wine Advocate, James Suckling, International Wine Challenge, Decanter Award... In 2015, the winery was selected for the first time in the Guide Vert des meilleurs vins de France by La Revue du Vin de France. In 2020, it joined the very closed club of starred estates. Expert professionals or individual amateurs, more and more of them make the difference every year. Alsace has become a natural choice for them and their loyalty to Schoenheitz wines is a fine tribute to quality..
