Cave Historique des Hospices de Strasbourg, Strasbourg

The Historic Cellar at Hospices de Strasbourg is a wine cellar constructed between 1393 and 1395 within the confines of the public hospital. This cellar quickly evolved into a valuable property owner, as many patients settled their treatment expenses by leaving parcels of land in their wills, gradually forming an extensive estate.

In 1716, a fire ravaged the hospital, but miraculously spared the cellar, bakery, and chapel. Throughout the 20th century, wine production gradually declined. However, in 1995, driven by local winegrowers, the cellar resumed operations as a cooperative. It underwent significant renovations and now sells approximately 150,000 bottles annually, including Gewürztraminer, Muscat, Riesling, and Pinot Gris. The winegrowers contribute a portion of their produce to the cellar, where the wine is aged in barrels and bottled with a "Vin des Hospices" label. Each producer retrieves a share of the bottles, while the remaining portion is sold on-site by the cellar. The winery is renowned for its wine quality but opts not to engage in advertising, reinvesting all profits in acquiring medical equipment.

The historical cellar within the public hospices contains one of the world's oldest wines, a white wine dating back to 1472 (an even older bottle, the Speyer wine bottle from the 4th century AD, is housed in the Museum of the History of the Palatinate in Germany). This wine was transferred to a stainless steel tank in 2014, and subsequently moved to a barrel in 2015. It is anticipated that this medieval white wine will be preserved for another two hundred and fifty years in this new barrel.