Estate History

For the Dietrich family, it all began in Dambach-la-Ville in 1620.

This date, engraved in the stone of the old cellar, is a bit like our birth certificate. The house has been rebuilt several times since then, but the cellar has never moved. It is the beating heart of the family—four centuries of history under the vaults.

For a long time, people here made a living from mixed farming.

A few cows, horses, chickens in the yard, rabbits, pigs... and of course, a few vines. Back then, wine was just a little extra, “a little butter in the spinach,” as my father used to say. It was sold in barrels, often shipped north to Europe via the Rhine—where there were no vineyards, but plenty of wine lovers.

From generation to generation, the plots were divided and shared between brothers and sisters, until they became small pieces of land—sometimes barely a few acres. This is how the grand crus were fragmented, but each piece of vineyard retained its soul.

In the 1960s, my father decided to devote himself entirely to wine.

At that time, there were no supermarkets or large retailers. People came directly to the cellar, tasted the wine, chatted, and left with their trunks full. It was simple, human, and it brought life to the village. During the harvest, friends, neighbors, everyone came to lend a hand. We sang, we laughed, we celebrated. Ten days of work and conviviality, leaving behind fond memories and a few good bottles of wine.

But the family's history is also one of journeys and returns.

At the beginning of the 20th century, some left to try their luck in America. One of them returned, but his brothers and sisters stayed there, in Canada and the United States. We even went to visit them in 1989—they were almost 100 years old, and their only regret was never having returned to Alsace.

On my mother's side, wine was also in the blood. My grandfather ran a restaurant in the village. He served his own wine at the table and, apparently, he loved good food as much as he loved beautiful cars. He was the first person in the village to own one—even before the doctor! He was a true bon vivant.

And then, the years passed. In 1990, it was my turn to take up the torch.

Originally, it wasn't meant to last: ten years, just long enough to raise the children, before hitting the road again. But once we got our hands back in the soil, felt the seasons, saw the grapes ripen... it was impossible to walk away. It became our life's work.

The vineyards have grown, thanks to the trust of our elders who passed on their vines to us, and the estate has flourished. Today, the estate is managed by my sons, Jean and Pierre. And everything we do is guided by this spirit: respect for life, passing on knowledge, and sincerity.

Yves Dietrich.

Here at Domaine Achillée, each bottle tells a little bit of this story: that of a family who has always kept their feet on the ground... and a glass in their hand.