The Beyer family has been making wine in Eguisheim since the sixteenth century, although the domain wasn't established until 1867. Since 1959, the estate has been run by Leon Beyer II, who today shares duties with his son Marc. The charismatic Leon, like his father before him, is the former Mayor of Equisheim and well known for being a gastronome. Under his hand, Domaine Leon Beyer has become one of the best represented Alsace wineries in the fine dining and export markets, selling well upwards of half a million bottles yearly. Despite this commercial success, however, the wines of Leon Beyer are still of remarkably high quality and stylistic integrity.

The domaine bottles the full complement of Alsace varieties: Pinot Blanc, Sylvaner, Riesling, Tokay, Gewurztraminer, and Pinot Gris. Roughly a third of the production is supplied by the domaine's own 20 hectares of sloping, clay/limestone vineyards, with the rest sourced from local vineyards essentially rented by Beyer (these parcels are farmed under the direction of the domaine rather than functioning as contract growers). In recent years, Domaine Leon Beyer has made strides to more natural, environmentally conscious approaches in the vineyards. To our dismay, much of Alsace seems to be trending toward sweeter wines. However, Beyers' signature has always been that its wines are drier than the norm in every category, uncompromising yet eminently food friendly. Best here are the bone dry Riesling and Gewürztraminer bottlings at the Réserve level and higher.