Historia
During the Thirty Years’ War, the Lorentz family still wasn’t based in Bergheim, but in the town of Ribeauvillé. Michel Lorentz, “A la Fleur” inn-keeper having received the right of citizenship. Adam Lorentz (1667-1744) worked in the gourmet sector here. Finally, Michel Lorentz is cited as cooper in 1725.
A branch of the Lorentz family moved to Bergheim in 1748 following the marriage of Jean-Georges Lorentz, winemaker and farrier.
His son, Pierre Lorentz, married the young daughter of the mayor of the time (Nicolas Schmitt). Pierre Lorentz’s functions in the judiciary made him the victim of some grudges and he was not sheltered from malicious acts: thus 160 feet of his vines were cut off flush, the others at 20cm (one foot).
The dynasty continued its ascension with Jacques Lorentz born in 1798 and Charles Lorentz born in 1836. And the Bergheim estate continued to expand from 329ha in 1836 to almost 400ha in 1893.
Born on 2nd June 1869, only shortly before Alsace became part of the German empire, Gustave Lorentz father have a strong impetus to the family business. But times were hard: a series of poor harvests discouraged wine-growing. More specifically, Alsace wines were used as base wines for blending with German wines. The vineyard changed due to the appearance of the phylloxera in 1905.
It was in this difficult context that Charles Lorentz father was born on 23rd May 1903.
It was after the second world war that Charles Lorentz son (born in 1934) developed the family business by buying the business of several estates thus benefiting from the best facilities.
When Charles Lorentz hand the reins of the business over to his son Georges in 1995, the estate covered 32ha and bought grapes produced on the 120 hectares of the Bergheim land.