by Ian D’Agata

Some stars just shine brighter than others.

I met Pierre Trimbach for the first time in 2000. I might have actually met him before then, at some trade show in Canada or France, but memory fails me now. I certainly remember the meeting in 2000, the day I visited the winery and bought three half-bottles of the 1989 Riesling Clos Ste. Hune Vendanges Tardives Hors Choix. Just one of the many iconic wines Pierre Trimbach helped make over his many years at the winemaking helm of Trimbach, the famous Alsace winery that is much admired all over the world. He came out to say hi, curious to see the fellow from Canada by way of Italy who was buying that wine at ten or so in the morning saying he would enjoy one at lunch nearby. Pierre asked why it is I had asked for and wanted that specific wine (which at the time, though famous, was not the collectible it is today). It was a matter of terroir and of skill, I replied simply; and he smiled. That same room that was, just a few years later, to become my annual meeting point where I’d sit with Pierre and his brother Jean (and, early on, with Frank Wilhem too), to taste the dozens and dozens of Trimbach wines from the new vintages. But with Pierre (and Jean, and Julien, and …) it was never a matter of just tasting great wines. It was always a matter of happiness. Of brightness.

I was genuinely happy to see Pierre any chance I had to do so. Stepping into that tasting room and seeing Pierre blessed me with an immediate endorphine-like rush inducing calm, tranquility, relaxation, and yes, happiness. For I was really happy to be there, hours spent removed from the maddening crowd, one I looked forward to all year long. Happy to see Pierre, to listen to him, and to learn (and I did learn, a lot). Sitting on one of the chairs in that room with the sight of Pierre’s very French white mustache and gentle smile before me, while listening to the sound of his soft, deep voice talking about his magnificent wines he was pouring… what bliss.  And I walked out of there each time always feeling not just happier, but with everything around me shining much brighter than when I had arrived.

In time, I got to know Pierre better and better. He was an avid cyclist (at least until a gimpy knee forced him to reduce that pastime), and a lover of fine wine and food. He had a wonderful private wine cellar which he generously shared bottles of. Over the years, I met Pierre not just in his wine tasting room, but in many other occasions too: in private homes, at restaurant dinners, at official functions, at celebrations (such as for example the marvelous November 2024 fête the Trimbach family organized for the centenary of the Riesling Clos Ste. Hune, featuring a vertical tasting back to 1966 and dinner at the Auberge de l’Ill, a day all those invited will likely never forget). But although the Clos Ste. Hune is the most famous wine Pierre Trimbach made, truth is all his wines shine brightly, be it the Riesling Frédéric Emile, Riesling Geisberg, Riesling Brand, Pinot Gris Réserve, Pinot Gris Osterberg, Sylvaner Weinbaum, Gewurztraminer Seigneurs de Ribeaupierre and all the others. But the brightest, shiniest star of all was Pierre himself, a man that was much loved, admired and respected.

Pierre Trimbach was born in 1956.

Pierre Trimbach died in 2026, at 69 years of age (he would have been seventy this coming June).

Last Saturday, someone, some thing, turned the lights off in the room. But rest assured, Pierre, that you and your legacy are destined to keep shining among us forever, illuminating from high above our paths in the earthly darkness.

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One of the world’s foremost figures of excellence in winemaking, Pierre Trimbach was the winemaker and technical director of Trimbach in Ribeauvillé, Alsace. He was part of the twelfth generation of the Trimbach family that has been deeply involved in grape-growing and winemaking since the seventeenth century.
Pierre Trimbach was a talented man. He became his family winery’s technical director and released his first vintage in 1979, after training with Jean Hugel in 1975 and in Beaune where he obtained a BTS degree in viticulture and oenology. He was known for his huge expertise of the Alsatian vineyard and its wines and for being a staunch defender of balanced, classically dry wines. In his time, he helped turn his family estate in the juggernaut it is today, investing in and ultimately embracing the grand crus.

Pierre Trimbach held many important posts in his life and won numerous prestigious awards for his work. He was President of the Grands Maisons d’Alsace association from 1993 until 2023. From 1998 onwards, he served on the national committee of the INAO and was a member of the Académie du Vin de France (since 2013), before serving as its President from 2020 until recently, turning the post over to Jean-Laurent Vacheron. He was named winemaker of the year and one of the world’s most important winemakers by numerous important wine publications and entities. At the time of his death, he was still managing the Trimbach estate along with his brother Jean (in charge of sales and export director, not to mention a global ambassador of his family’s brand), and with the thirteenth generation of Trimbachs, including his nephew Julien (with whom he was increasingly sharing winemaking duties with), his daughters Anne and Frédérique, as well as his niece Pauline. He is survived by them and his lovely wife Paulette.

Ian D’Agata and everyone at the Ian D’Agata Wine Review offers their sincere condolences to the Trimbach family, the Trimbach staff and colleagues.