After years of studying - four years of école hôtelière, and one year each of technical diplomas BTS Agricole and Diplome National d’Oenologue - interspersed with six years working in restaurants as a sommelier, Émilien started making wines in 2017, just for himself and friends, from untended, wild parcels of vines, hence the name Raisin Sauvage. Fast forward two years and with studies completed and lots of practical experience gained, he started making his first official wines on the outskirts of the small village of Illhaeusern, just a few miles north of Colmar and near some of the famous grand cru terroirs of Alsace - Schlossberg, Furstentum, and Mambourg.

He works just over 1.5 hectares of his own vines spread around 11 parcels in four different villages and, in time-honored Alsace tradition, makes many different wines from a tiny number of vines. They are split roughly into two locations, with one third in Saint Hippolyte, but the majority around Kayserberg on the grand cru terroir of Schlossberg. It’s impressive, not only because of the natural beauty from the very steep south facing hills covered almost entirely in vines, but also because of the soils made up of large chunks of granite and gneiss (see the photos below). It is hard to work as you can guess because of the slope and just getting up there is an adventure requiring serious AWD equipment.

With Émilien, you get the whole package - the mohawk, loud music, crazy labels, and some interesting winemaking techniques. In 2023, he’s on his fourth vintage and is still experimenting with different winemaking methods. Out of the dozen or so wines he makes, some are done with a simple direct press but others by blending fins de presse and the clair de lies from all varietals followed by long ageing in gently rinsed red wine barrels, giving then an orange feel. His wines are zippy, textured, and they punch your taste buds, in the nicest possible way of course. And when the wine doesn’t turn out how he would like, then he makes beer with it!