“They sold their wine by the barrel in bistros”

PHOTO 1

“This photo was taken in 1956 – the date is written on the back. You can see my great-grandfather Jean-Pierre Hoffeld right at the top wearing a hat. He founded the estate. To me, this is an interesting photo as it shows how harvesting was done back in those days. Harvesters carrying back baskets poured grape clusters into a press positioned over a wooden tub on a cart. They had to turn the big handle to crush the grapes. Once the tub was full, horses were fetched and they went back to the cellar. My great-grandparents founded the estate. In the early days, they sold their wine by the barrel in bistros. It was Elbling or Rivaner. When the barrel was empty, someone went to collect it. The next generation introduced bottling to the estate under my grandfather Jean Schlink.”

PHOTO 2

“Here, you can see the same cart in a photo traditionally taken at the end of the harvest. In those days, the grapes were picked mainly by family and friends. Nowadays, seasonal workers mainly do this job. I hire about ten every year. Having said that, my parents and two sisters are always on hand to help out … and there’s always plenty to do! The atmosphere was different back then too. Harvest time was more festive than it is today and people used to go out to bistros a lot more.”

PHOTO 3

“Here’s my grandmother Anne Hoffeld, who married Jean Schlink. In the background, you can see Nittel (editor’s note – opposite Machtum, on the German side). That means she’s on the Ongkâf terroir, which is like the birthplace of our estate and the jewel in our crown. She’s standing near a horse. We didn’t have a tractor back then.”

PHOTO 4

“This is the village of Machtum and the Moselle has burst its banks.  The vines you can see opposite are in Germany. Those were the days before the Moselle was canalised and floods were much more common than they are nowadays (editor’s note – work began in 1956 and the Moselle was officially opened for navigation on 26 May 1964).”