Clos des Capucins is one of the most respected vineyards in Alsace, with a long and distinguished history. The vineyard is a monopole of Domaine Weinbach, established in 1612 by the Capucin monks who built the clos. The Weinbach title was chosen by the monks for its symbolism. It means 'The Stream of Wine', a reference to the brook flowing through the estate en route from the lower Vosges to the Rhine.
Domaine Weinbach – and therefore the Clos des Capucins – is now owned by the Faller family. They acquired it in 1898 after it was seized as national property during the French Revolution. The clos has remained the domaine's headquarters and flagship vineyard.
Not all of Domaine Weinbach's wines come from the Clos des Capucins (it covers only 12 acres/5ha). The domaine also has vineyards within the Furstentum and Mambourg Grand Crus, just to the east, and in the Schlossberg Grand Cru on the hillside immediately above the clos. The Cuvee Theo wines, named after Theo Faller, are Riesling and Gewurztraminer wines produced exclusively from Clos des Capucins grapes.
The first references to the Capucin monastery here date back to the ninth century, although it is uncertain whether wine grapes were being grown in the clos as long ago as that. Whenever the first cuvees were made, the Clos des Capucins has secured a place in Alsace's wine history.
