European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 3, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                In lift Tabor in the vineyards goes on after the Harvest is in. A worker mends a with Fence the vines can use to climb toward the Sun during the next growing season. The huge cask sitting in the Hugel winery holds 8,800 liners of wine and according to records is the oldest in continuous  has Good grounds for making winery Norm Zeigler travel outdoor writer according to Jean Hugel there is one thing that is certain about win making Quot wine always  the factors that influence the Quality Are As capricious As the weather and As Subtle As the Trace elements in the soil Hugel who along with his Brothers Andre and Georges operates one of the Premier wineries in Rique Wihr France downplays the importance of the winemaker. He even disputes the accuracy of the word which he claims is an american invention. Quot you cannot make wine you grow it Quot he says. A winemaker he says can Only make the most of the Basic ingredient supplied by nature with the assistance of the grower Quot one Hundred percent of the Quality of any True wine is in the grape Quot he says. If the grapes Are not top Quality there is no Way to make a top Quality wine. Most important among the variables that influence the Quality of the grapes Are the soil the moisture the amount of Sunshine received and the temperature Range during the growing season. Grapes do not require Rich soil. In fad though the sparse Stony soil around Rique Wihr makes it unsuitable for Large scale prod Union of food crops it is Ideal for viticulture. Hugel says this is because the wine grape is a Quot Mediterranean Weed Quot that requires Little More than moisture and Sunshine. When Hugel Speaks he Speaks from a Long tradition. He and his Brothers Are the 11th generation of the family to ferment wine from the grapes of the nearby hillsides. In the Hugel cellar is an 8,800 liter Oak cask certified by the guinness Book of world records As the Quot world s oldest vat in constant use from 1 71 5 to  the first Hugel in Rique Wihr was Hans Ulrich who moved to the town in 1637 following the devastation of the thirty years War. Two years later he became head of Rique Wihr s vintners Guild and the family has been playing a leading role in win making Ever since. Today Jean Hugel is president of the local association of makers of High Quality wines. The hugely cultivate 26 hectares 64 acres of their own vineyards and contract to buy the grapes from 110 hectares 272 acres owned by other growers. Eighty percent of the winery s yearly output of 1.8 million liners is exported to More than 100 countries. Buyers from All Over the world travel to the tiny town to sip and buy the Premium rieslings Silvanes gewurztraminer pinot Blanc Miiller Thurgau and Muscat. Making top Quality wines is not a fast Buck proposition. Quot the real potential Quality comes out of a Good wine after four to five years Quot Hugel says. Aging in the family a cellars Are More than 2.2 million liners of liquid assets. The idea is not to sell any wine before it has been aged to its full potential. Quot the greater the wine the longer we Wail to release them Quot Hugel says when Thev have matured some of the wines will sell Tor up to $2,800 a Case. For Jean Hugel wine is More than a business. It is a passion. His Tours of the winery Are filled with historical 6 stripes Magazine january 3, 1992 a