The Estate

1792

Earliest written documentation on the Estate

1867

Mathias Schmit and his wife Elise Hoffeld take over the Estate

This photo shows Mathias Schmit together with his family in front of the family home.

1842-1918

Luxembourg is part of the Zollverein and produces wine in bulk for the large sparkling wine operations in Germany

1900

House ‘A Leinen’ is built

1910

Henri Schmit and his wife Marguerite Fohl take over the Estate

1920

The vineyards are devastated by a phylloxera infestation and new vines are planted destined for the Belgian market

As a result of the phylloxera crisis, caused by a tiny aphid native to North America and attacking vines by feeding on their roots, all European vines had to be grafted onto American wood.

1921

First bottling process carried out within the Estate

The first bottling carried out by the Estate itself marked the birth of the Schmit-Fohl ‘brand’.

1927

Acquisition of house ‘A Closen’

Henri acquires the adjacent ‘A Closen’ house with its charming, vaulted cellars in order to facilitate the growth of the business.

1945

Léon Schmit takes over the Estate together with his wife Marguerite Rauchs and his sister Mathilde

1960

Final conversion from mixed farming to viticulture

Until the early 1960s, the winegrowers operated mixed crop and stock farms in parallel to working in the vineyards.

1970

Reparcelling of the vineyards

The vineyard parcels until then were small and scattered and were therefore unsuitable for the mechanisation of vineyard maintenance. Although environment concerns were not in the forefront in the 1970s, this reparcelling was necessary for sustaining the viability of the wine business.

1985

Armand Schmit and his wife Patrizia De Vita take over the Estate

1986

Armand is first to plant a Chardonnay vine in Luxembourg

This burgundy wine variety, suitable for barrel ageing, has inspired us to be guided by nature through a reintroduction of wood into the ageing process of our wines. Burgundy barrels today account for 30% of our storage capacity.

1987

Extension of the production cellars

This extension enabled a linkage between the ‘A Closen’ and ‘A Leinen’ wine cellars to provide an extensive and more functional working space.

1989

The first Pinot Noir vines are planted

1999

First production of the Estate’s crémant

2008

Opening of the new tasting room

2014

First vintage of ‘sélection SF’

First vintage of our Sélection SF range of premium wines originating from the Estate’s best terroirs and produced exclusively from those vintages with optimal grape quality.

2017

Nicolas joins the Estate

2017

The vineyards are converted to organic

A commitment to convert the entire Estate to organic is signed.

2019

Mathieu joins the Estate

2020

Organic certification

Following three years of organic farming of both vine and soil, organic certification is granted to the 2020 vintage.

2021

First vintage of Natural Wine

First vintage of natural wine: the Tout-nü is a wine made mandatorily from organically farmed and hand-harvested grapes. A Vinification without any inputs is used, the wine is neither clarified nor filtered and, in this specific case, no sulphites are added.

2021

Nicolas and Mathieu Schmit take over the Estate

2023

Release of the new Rosé Le 8