Producers

Thomas Junique & Cyprien De Lageneste Rhône, France Vindiou is a négoce project of the two friends Thomas Junique and Cyprian De Lageneste. They met in Saint-Émilion during what was for both their first harvest. Both continued their education and development in the vineyards and cellars of Bordeaux. After finishing their degrees in viticulture and oenology both decided to take a walk, as they would call it. This walk led them through three continents, crossing two oceans and vinifying in eight different countries. What stuck with them the most were the specificieties of the various terroirs as well as the different methods used in these countries. Finally, the two friends decided, while vinifying in Switzerland, to start their own project. It was in the old barn of Thomas’ grandparents, overlooking the northern Rhône valley, that they were allowed to set up. Thomas and Cyprien source their grapes in the vicinity, from growers that tend to small parcels with care and without chemicals. The grapes are then harvested manually and selected in the vineyards. Thomas and Cyprien distinguish between wines from grapes issued from the northern Rhône and the Ardèche, which have an orange label and are classified vin de France, and wines from specific plots in the Rhône. They have a red label and fall under specific appellations such as Crozes-Hermitage and Saint-Joseph. In the cellar, the two friends work with the utmost precision without, however, intervening in the vinification process unless necessary. The grapes are lightly trampled before the fermentation and maceration. The fermentation takes place with indigenous yeasts only. The length of the maceration is dictated by the fermentation, vintage and taste of Thomas and Cyprien. Next they gently and slowly press the grapes, during up to 20 hours. This lets the wines keep their freshness and aromatics. Then the wines are aged in old Burgundy vats or stainless steel tanks. Bottling is done manually and only small doses of sulphites are added, if the vintage requires it. The wines of Vindiou are approachable, utterly drinkable and aromatic all the while retaining the characteristics of some of the Rhône valley’s famous appellations.

Valentin Letoquart Lubéron, Rhône, France Valentin Letoquart is a passionated young winemaker. Established in Oppède in Lubéron, southeastern Rhône. In 2013, after having worked in multiple organic vineyards, he decided to make his own wines and created Val de Combrès. The wines deviate from the typical wines of the region, especially due to Valentin’s atypical work in the vines. He tends to nearly eight hectares of vines, situated in remote and secluded, hard to work plots in the rising hills that form the border with the Provence. Surrounded by forests and far from the flats, these are the perfect places for Valentin to carry out his meticulous biodynamic work. Ploughing with a horse, he prefers plant-based infusions to chemical treatments and sulphites. Come winter, a flock of animals even descends from the Alps to graze in his vineyards, mowing them and providing him with high-quality compost. In the cellar, Valentin lets nature do it’s work. Indigenous yeasts are used for the fermentation, whole bunches are used for carbonic maceration or the grapes are de-stemmed and macerated gently. All in order to achieve gentle extraction. No sulphites are added and Valentin often bottles in the spring following the harvest. The wines are light, lively, exuberant and fruit-forward. Valentin really transmits a sense of fun with his wines, especially through his juicy reds. Val de Combrès are definitely wines for a good time!

Pauline Lair Angers, Loire, France The Loire is France’s longest river, flowing for 1006 kilometers from its source in the Ardèche, to its mouth in the Atlantic Ocean. Along its way, the Loire flows through different terroirs and regions with diverse wine traditions. The soils differ greatly along the way, from volcanic soils through argilo-calcareous, clayey, chalky and flint types to the metamorphic and volcanic soils of the Black Anjou and Pays Nantais. It is exactly this complexity and diversity that inspires Pauline Lair in winemaking. Her project, 1006 vins, clearly references the entire Loire. This project consists of an urban winery in Angers. Lair does not have her own vineyards. Instead, she cooperates with friendly winemakers from all along the Loire who supply her with grapes. These cooperations and friendships are based on a shared respect of the earth, expressed in the durable and organic farming of the grapes. Pauline even travels up and down the Loire herself in order to track the health and development of the vines she selected for 1006 vins. In order to uphold the careful work of her vignerons and to respect their terroirs, Lair ferments her wines spontaneously and ripens them in fiberglass barrels. Although the wines are labeled on grape variety instead of appellation, their relation to their original terroir is far from lost. In the words of Pauline Lair: “I am in love with the Loire and this drives me to make honest wines that reflect their terroirs. I vinify the grapes of my partners naturally. That is, using indigenous yeasts, with minimal or no interventions, without dogma, in order to make good wines that are alive!” Next to 1006 vins, Pauline Lair started a new project: À Quatre Mains. For this project she makes wines together with her partnering vignerons, in their cellars but following her vision. The project is centered around experimenting with blends and new grape varieties. The wines are only contrived at the last moment of the harvest. Thus, each blend is adapted to that year’s harvest. All her wines are super straight forward, clean and very easy to pour by the glass. Definitely worth discovering!

Patrice Béguet Mesnay, Jura, France Patrice is originally from Jura and after living in Paris, he returned to Arbois and acquired 4 hectares of vineyards, planted with the local Jura varieties varieties Savagnin, Chardonnay, Ploussard and Trousseau, to chase his dream of making natural wine. Patrice lets his love for Jazz music and the scenic landscap of the Jura inspire him in his winemaking. On top of that he strongly believes in minimal intervention. Hence, his vineyards are certifiec organic (AB) and biodynamic (Demeter). Patrice is convinced that great wines come from healthy vines. According to him, healthy vines yield grapes that are more resistant, give more complex flavours and ferment better. In order to keep his vineyard healthy he follows organic and biodynamic practices and encourages biodiversity. Flowers, plants and all kinds of cereal are sown between the rows of vines. Absolutely no pesticides or chemicals enter the vineyards and all the grapes are harvested manually. Next to his own domaine, Patrice also runs a négoce, for which he only selects grapes from organic farmers from inside as well as outside the Jura. Patrice’s believes give him direction in his cellar too. He does not use any chemicals whatsoever and most of his wines do not contain any added sulphites, only adding minimal amounts when absolutely necessary. He is known as an experimental winemaker due to his custom blends and long fermentations. This results in expressive, electric, fruity and complex wines. Very much worth a try!

Nikolas Juretic Gorizia, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy Nikolas Juretic was born in a family of winemakers. His ancestors used to cultivate a piece of land for the earls of San Floriano. Cultivating wines was a part of it and with the few grapes that were left over they used to make wines following rudimentary methods. Nikolas remembers well how his grandfather used to live, he would be considered a biodynamical guru nowadays but for his generation it was normal to live in harmony with animals and plants. This way of permaculture inspires Nikolas in his present work. Nikolas himself studied oenology and traveled the world to gain experience at various estates. He also spent some time working with Simon & Sirch, specialising in the pruning of vines. It was in 2018 that he started his own production of wine. He uses the grapes of his family vineyard. His parents, Elena and Robert, help him by tending to the vineyard while he kan focus on his work in the cellar. The vineyard spreads out over 2 hectares near the border with Slovenia. The soil is locally called Ponka or Flysch and consists of sandstone, marl and is rich in limestone. It allows the roots of the vines to grow deeply into the earth, making it very suited for viticulture. The vines are over 50 years old and grow mostly local varieties. The vineyards are great in biodiversity as wild grass is allowed to grow and animals and plants from the nearby forest all are welcome. Nikolas and his parents really walk alongside nature instead of trying to control it. The cellar is an interesting place for Nikolas. The climate is favourable for ripe grapes, which he likes. In order for the wines to be not only rich and complex but to also keep some freshness Nikolas uses whole bunch maceration. After a couple of days of maceration and spontaneous fermentation the must is transferred into wooden barrels or concrete tanks to ripen on the lees for a long time. They are then bottled without fining or filtering and with minimal amounts of sulphite. The wines are rich and complex, with notes of rip fruit. Yet they keep a surprising freshness. These wines need time to be drunk and also to be understood. Elegant, deep and never ordinary. The colourful labels are painted by Nikolas himself.

Mirco Mariotti Bosco Eliceo, Emilia Romagna, Italy Formerly a biologist, Mirco Mariotti inherited his father’s vineyards in 2009. The vines are located some 300 meters from the Adriatic Sea, west of Ferrara in Emilia Romagna. This region falls under the Bosco Eliceo DOC, the only DOC with a grand cru for the grape Fortana, which also grows in Mariotti’s vineyards. They have a long tradition of frizzante, made in the ancestral method from 100 year old vines. Some of them are even planted on the beach. This region is also known to be very laid-back, where locals are on the beach, eating piadina romagnola (grilled flatbreads), drinking frizzante and playing beach and card games. Mirco named his wines after these card games. Sèt e Mèz being some sort of Blackjack and Smarazen being a sort of Rummy game. Mariotti’s vines are planted in the Fortana grand cru area. They grow in sandy soils and are non-grafted, remaining on their original rootstock. Mariotti uses a technique of layering the new shoots, bending them under the ground for them to shoot up like new vines. Under his vineyard now lies a gnarly web of interconnected vines over one hundred years old. Healthy, organic, grapes are the foundation of Mariotti’s wines. These are hand-picked early October, providing a higher acidity content. The pressed must is left to macerate for a day or two after which fermentation lasts for about two weeks in stainless steel tanks. Then the wine is transferred into concrete tanks to wait until the botteling. During the botteling, some fresh must is added to the wine in order for a second fermentation to start in the bottle. These are wines with character, slighlty saline and savoury with notes of ripe fruit. Start dealing the cards!

Nuria Renom Sant Marti del Sarroca, Penedès, Spain Nuria Renom moved from Argentina to Spain when she was just a child. It was an exchange during her studies that lead her to Pisa and there she fell in love with wine. When she came back to Barcelona, she had a new dream, that of becoming a winemaker. She went on to study to become a sommelier and later traveled the world in order to partake in harvests and gain experiences which she could later pour into her own wines. In 2013 she helped to found the legendary Bar Brutal in Barcelona as the head sommelier. A year later, she was able to rent a small vineyard in the Garret mountains, starting to realise her dream. After long services she would hurry back home in order to tend to the wines. In 2021 Nuria and her partner Arola finally found a suited and permanent place for their project Les Cantarelles. They bought an old farmhouse, Can Barceló, in Sant Marti del Sarroca, surrounded by 16 hectares of vineyards. They work about 8 hectares of those vineyards, containing mostly Parellada. Can Barceló is protected from the moderate Mediterranean climate by hills and forests. Thus it can be quite cool in the vineyards. The grapes ripen slower and the wines seldomly exceed 12% alcohol. All Nuria’s work in the vineyards is organic, some biodynamic. In addition to her own grapes, Nuria also works with négoce grapes from some of her favourite parcels from friends Ton Rimbau and Toni Carbo. In the cellar Nuria follows a natural approach. Spontaneous fermentation, no sulphites and bottling without fining or filtering. Nuria makes light and fruit focused wines, the free line that are great as a by the glass option. Next to that she makes more gastronomic wines in the higher price range, that are very well received and very well made.

Antonio Gismondi Cerreto Sannita, Benevento, Campania, Italy Anabel and Antonio Gismondi are established in the hills of Cerreto Sannita, a small village in Benevento, Northeast of Naples. Here Antonio’s family has been working the land for generations, mostly tending to vines, growing local grape varieties as Malvasia di Candia, Falanghina, Sangiovese and Freisa. Antonio’s parents used to sell most of the grapes to the local cooperative, only keeping a small amount to make their own wines for the family. Antonio himself used to run a restaurant in the Catalonian village of Bonastre. During this time he befriended Massimo Machiori and Antonella Gerosa, well known from Partida Creus. While visiting the Gismondi family, they enjoyed the family wines so much that they convinced them to start selling their wines. In 2019 Antonio took over ands started to make his own wines under the name Gismondi. The vineyards lie at an altitude of 350 to 380 meters and about 60 kilometers from the Tyrrhenian coast. The circumstances create an unique microclimate, cooler and with enough yearly rain, different to the surroundings. The maritime influences bring humid easterly winds in the harvest season while the vineyards are covered in fog during the cooler months. These conditions allow for the wines to display more delicacy and finesse than one might expect from this part of Italy. The two hectares are situated on hilly terrain with clayey and stoney soils. All the work in the vineyards is done organically, without any chemicals. Antonio follows his own common sense as well as the recipes of his ancestors. In the cellar the approach is also natural. Antonio ages his wines in stainless steel tanks, uses no additives or sulphites and fermentations occur spontaneously with indigenous yeasts. Because of the climate and Antonio’s approach the wines are fresh and delicate. The nearby sea and the soil give salinity and minerality. All wines are light with floral aromas and with notes of citrus, underlying saline and mineral characteristics. The labels show the silhouettes of the surrounding hills. Uplifting wines!

Josep Tort & Maria Barrena Penedès, Spain In the Penedès region, in Spanish Catalunya and mostly known for its cava production, Maria Barrena and Josep Tort took over Josep’s family vineyard in 2010. Near the sea and at about 450 metres of altitude these vines were planted between 1953 and 1976 in soils of lime and clay. Josep is the third generation of winemakers in his family and he is on a mission to restore his family vineyards. By working organically, ecologically and regeneratively the couple achieves to make pure and expressive wines from mostly local grape varieties such as Xarello, Macabeu and Parellada. The grapes are harvested manually and after pressing the fermentation is let to happen naturally, with natural yeasts, in stainless steal tanks. The wines are then bottled without, or with absolutely minimal amounts of sulphites. The old, deep-rooted vines give concentration and complexity, which is noticeable in the wines. The soil adds minerality. Josep and Maria make fresh, easy and aromatic wines that are full of life. Perfect for the novice natural wine drinker!