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Jean-Baptiste Adam Winery Guide

Winery Overview

This wine estate tests a critic’s ability to remain balanced and objective. Indeed, it is hard for any wine lover to stay neutral about such a charismatic and engaging winemaking family or their excellent range of terroir-driven, delicious wines. This family has been writing the history of Alsatian wine for over four centuries. Today run by the 15th generation, that legacy shows no signs of slowing down.

The winery was founded in 1614 by the original Jean-Baptiste Adam in the Haut-Rhin village of Ammerschwihr in the Alsace wine region. Flanked by the granite slopes of the Grand Cru vineyard ‘Kaefferkop,’ his success seemed assured. Quickly building a reputation for the quality of his wines, restauranteurs in Ammerschwihr would queue up to taste the barrel samples to best select a match for their dishes. Over the centuries, the firm’s reputation grew, overcoming the many historical obstacles thrown in its way. Jean-Baptiste Adam survived the Thirty Years War (1618-1648), the French Revolution, and the Napoleonic wars, thriving despite prolonged periods of political turbulence. At the end of the 19th century, the firm embarked upon its first significant cellar expansion before shipping its first bottles to the US in 1871.

Unfortunately, the outbreak of the Two World Wars caused significant setbacks. During WWI, Alsace was annexed by Germany and returned following the peace treaty of Versailles. However, during World War II, the estate was deemed hostile to German forces and was forbidden from selling any wine during the war. Many citizens of Ammerschwihr took refuge in the cellar during the Allied bombing campaigns. As a result, the cellar was spared the ravages of war – the old wooden casks are still in use today. After the end of the war, 13th-generation Jean Adam helped the region get back on its feet, once again exporting Alsatian wines worldwide. The construction of a new cellar in 1967 only aided their cause – 14th-generation Jean-Baptiste took over in 1996, although he started working at the winery in 1982. Today he pushes forward remarkably progressive stewardship, working with his daughter Laure, the marketing genius behind Jean-Baptiste Adam’s recent success. The central hallmarks of their wines are respected for terroir, the introduction of biodynamic viticultural practices in 2003, and a ‘non-interventionist’ regime in the cellar, which involves only using wild yeasts and refraining from filtration. As a result, the wines are magnificent: structured, aromatically complex, and long-lived. Without any hyperbole, it would be fair to say they’re among France’s best.

Alsace Wine Tour

Alsace Wine Tour

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Author

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James lawrence

With a passion for food & drink that verges on the obsessive, wine writer James Lawrence has traveled the world in search of the perfect tipple. To date, nothing has surpassed the 1952 R. Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Rioja Reserva, tasted in the cobweb-filled cellars with owner María José. Meanwhile, James has been writing for a wide variety of publications for over 12 years, including Telegraph, Decanter, Harpers, The Drinks Business, and Wine Business International. He lives in South Wales and returns to his former university city, Bilbao, as much as possible.

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