KACHEN #28 (Autumn 2021) English Edition

VINTNER FAMILY
MAISON VITICOLE SCHMIT-FOHL IN AHN
SEAMLESS TRANSITION
Nicolas and Mathieu Schmit
took over the family business
in Ahn that is now a completely
organic wine growing operation.
The dry style of the house
will be continued by
the brothers.
126
Claude François
Ramunas Astrauskas
TEXT
PHOTOS
The “Masion Viticole Schmit-Fohl” was founded in
Ahn in the 18 th century. In 1985, Armand Schmit and
his wife Patrizia, who got to know each other during
their studies in Paris, took over the helm of the business.
Armand preferred to produce quite dry wines
and he invested in a modern wine press and a small
Barrique park in order to give his wines a special
something: a vineyard with a personal signature!
In 2016, the oldest son Nicolas joined the business
and, three years later, his brother Mathieu. “Really, I
never thought of doing something else than taking
over the business for it already fascinated me from a
young age,” says Nicolas Schmit, whose parents never
“pressured him.”
Nicolas studied viniculture and oenology in Weinsberg
in Baden-Württemberg and gained practical
experience in the Champagne region and in an organic
company in the Palatinate region, where he learned
valuable knowledge about organic winegrowing. “In
order to see other places in the world outside of central
Europe,” he did an internship in Franschhoek in South
Afrika, in the renowned wine region of Stellenbosch /
Cape Winelands.
Together towards organic
In 2017, Armand and Nicolas converted the business
completely to an organic production. “My father was
always open for new ideas, and we took the decision
together,” emphasizes the young winegrower. “Since
we could not restrict the harvest amount further and
we already do a lot in terms of quality management in
the cellar, we are trying to foreground the Terroir of the
various sites through the conversion to organic, therefore
distinguishing between the different wines. And
organic wine production works much better for that than
conventional winegrowing,” Nicolas explains. Because
the vineyards all lie between Machtum and Ehnen, and
the business is well constructed on a personal level as
well as in its machinery, the transition to organic was
relatively straightforward.
Mathieu, who is two years younger than his brother,
studied communications in Brussels for a while and did not
KACHEN No.28 | AUTUMN 21