Our history Every day we write the book

Each village in Alsace has its own rich history. The headquarters of Maison Bestheim are located in Bennwihr. This village is home to the famous "Mondfangers," the "moon chasers."

People who have always dreamed bigger, higher, further... a nickname handed down from the mists of time.

Chasing the moon, chasing an impossible dream... Hardy souls prepared to stray from the beaten track... Armed with audacity, courage and tenacity, they have always proudly defended their liberty. After the terrible winter of 1944, when Bennwihr was the theatre of fierce fighting, they rebuilt the village from the ashes.

Before even rebuilding their own houses, the winemakers of this "martyred village" decided to build a cooperative winery. The cooperative was officially founded in 1946, making and selling the village's wines as a team. Solidarity, sharing and audacity are Bestheim's founding values.

"They call us the "Mondfangers", and we're proud of it. We're proud of our village, and its traditions of audacity and liberty. Above all we're proud of our ancestors, who elevated the wines of Bennwihr to the level of excellence we inherited. "Mondfanger"?

Now more than ever.

" René Amann, Winemaker and former president of the Bennwihr winery, 1984

Bestheim is a big extended family of winemakers, all driven by the same passion for their work. Our grapes come from over thirteen thousand individual plots of vines - from Barr in the north to Wuenheim in the south - but each and every plot benefits year-in, year-out from the passionate attention to detail of our member winemakers.

The astonishing patchwork of plots which make up the Alsace wine region has sculpted this magnificent landscape, a riot of colours worthy of an Impressionist painting. Bestheim draws upon these countless individual stories, weaving them together to create wines of indelible character.