Things People Like about Natural Wines

On our recent trip to Italy we sat down with Simone, the winemaker at Cento Filari, in Asti, Piedmont. Simone talked with us about what he really likes about drinking and making natural wines. Check out the video to hear his thoughts:

Natural Winemakers’ Week 2013 is coming soon, so we thought now would be a good time to review some Things People Like about Natural Wine:

Visit www.jennyandfrancois.com/nww13 for more details on the week!

Our company began 12 years ago with Jenny and François’s dream to share their passion of a style of wines they fell in love with while living in France. That passion has spread gradually over the years with thanks in no small part to other importers like Joe Dressner, and today there are a whole host of natural wine lovers: customers, sommeliers, wine store owners, and an ever-growing list of importers, who love these wines as much as we do. With all the attention Natural Wines are getting in the media lately, we thought it would be fun to do a series where people talk about all the things they love about these wines.

Donkey and Goat began making wine in 2002. Jared, and his wife Tracy spent a year interning in France with the great winemaker Eric Texier. Since then they have been one of the leaders in the California natural wine movement. You can read their manifesto here. On our recent trip to California, we knew we just had to get some of Jared’s thoughts down on film:

Hardy Wallace has been involved in the California natural wine scene for several years now, first while working with Kevin Kelly at the NPA, and now with his own project, Dirty and Rowdy Family Winery. Hardy has a keenly developed sense of humour, and is no stranger to video shoots about Natural Wine, so we knew we’d get some good stuff from him.

We’re really excited to be distributing his wines in New York very soon. While we love many of the natural wines made in California, the Jenny & François palate is geared towards something a little bit lighter in texture, and Hardy’s wines fit that bill exactly. Look for them on a shelf in NYC any day now!

Oh, and here are some things Hardy likes about Natural Wine:

Our company began 12 years ago with Jenny and François’s dream to share their passion of a style of wines they fell in love with while living in France. That passion has spread gradually over the years with thanks in no small part to other importers like Joe Dressner, and today there are a whole host of natural wine lovers: customers, sommeliers, wine store owners, and an ever-growing list of importers, who love these wines as much as we do. With all the attention Natural Wines are getting in the media lately, we thought it would be fun to do a series where people talk about all the things they love about these wines.

Follow the whole series:

Part 1: Joe Campanale of Anfora

Part 2: Levi Dalton

Part 3: Pascaline Lepeltier of Rouge Tomate

Part 4: Fifi of the Ten Bells

Part 5: Ben Wood of 67 Wine

For today’s installment, we chatted with Sophie, the manager at Chambers Street Wines, a place that some have called the greatest wine store in North America. For natural wine fans, Chambers Street is certainly a temple at which we all worship, so we were really eager to hear what Sophie likes about natural wine. Sophie is also a very fine blogger in her own right, as you can see in the recent post she wrote about her visit to Champagne in, The Brainchildren of Emmanuel Lassaigne. Check out what she had to say in the interview, and make sure you follow her blog as well!

Our company began 12 years ago with Jenny and François’s dream to share their passion of a style of wines they fell in love with while living in France. That passion has spread gradually over the years with thanks in no small part to other importers like Joe Dressner, and today there are a whole host of natural wine lovers: customers, sommeliers, wine store owners, and an ever-growing list of importers, who love these wines as much as we do. With all the attention Natural Wines are getting in the media lately, we thought it would be fun to do a series where people talk about all the things they love about these wines.

Follow the whole series:

Part 1: Joe Campanale of Anfora

Part 2: Levi Dalton

Part 3: Pascaline Lepeltier of Rouge Tomate

Part 4: Fifi of the Ten Bells

Today we have an interview with Ben Wood, one of the wine buyers at 67 Wine on the upper west side, and one of those most responsible for its brilliant natural wine selection. Ben has helped build an incredibly avid following of natural wines in this upper west side institution. When we do tastings at 67, we are always amazed by the customers’ knowledge of our wines. Many of them are familiar with them for several vintages going back, and have become real natural wine fans. But Ben doesn’t only champion natural wines, he is also an accomplished Jazz guitarist. For information on his gigs, follow him on twitter at @7stringben. Check out what Ben likes about Natural Wine:

Our company began 12 years ago with Jenny and François’s dream to share their passion of a style of wines they fell in love with while living in France. That passion has spread gradually over the years with thanks in no small part to other importers like Joe Dressner, and today there are a whole host of natural wine lovers: customers, sommeliers, wine store owners, and an ever-growing list of importers, who love these wines as much as we do. With all the attention Natural Wines are getting in the media lately, we thought it would be fun to do a series where people talk about all the things they love about these wines.

In Part 1, we sat with Joe Campanale of Anfora.  In Part 2, we had an interview with Levi Dalton, and in Part 3 we talked to Pascaline Lepeltier of Rouge Tomate.

For today’s installment, we sat down with Fifi of The Ten Bells wine bar, in the lower east side. I sat down for an interview with Fifi about a year and half ago, where you can read all about him and the wine bar. The Ten Bells is one of our favorite spots, and when our winemakers are in town, it’s their favorite spot too. Fifi is originally from Burgundy, and he infused Ten Bells with a classic French bar à vins feel, from the simple chalkboard wine list, to the glass jars filled with delicious potted meats. If you’ve been there before, you know it’s very dark, and therfore our camera struggled a bit with the low light. If you haven’t been there, what’s wrong with you!? Check out what Fifi had to say in this rare glimpse of him on film:

Our company began 12 years ago with Jenny and François’s dream to share their passion of a style of wines they fell in love with while living in France. That passion has spread gradually over the years with thanks in no small part to other importers like Joe Dressner, and today there are a whole host of natural wine lovers: customers, sommeliers, wine store owners, and an ever-growing list of importers, who love these wines as much as we do. With all the attention Natural Wines are getting in the media lately, we thought it would be fun to do a series where people talk about all the things they love about these wines.

In Part 1, we sat with Joe Campanale of Anfora.  In Part 2, we had an interview with Levi Dalton.

Today, we have a talk with Pascaline Lepeltier, sommelière at Rouge Tomate. For those avid readers of our blog (you know who you are), you may remember the extensive interview I did with her a while back. In short, Pascaline is one of the biggest champions of natural wines working in restaurants in this country today. We’ve done several wine dinners with her and let’s just say that her pairings are magical. She is always coming up with ways to match wine where what’s in the glass doesn’t just complement the food, it makes both taste better. Sometimes these pairings break all the rules and are so counter-intuitive we just have to scratch our heads at Pascaline’s genius. She has built up quite a fan base, and we are all fans too! Check out what Pascaline had to say about why she likes natural wine:

Our company began 12 years ago with Jenny and François’s dream to share their passion of a style of wines they fell in love with while living in France. That passion has spread gradually over the years with thanks in no small part to other importers like Joe Dressner, and today there are a whole host of natural wine lovers: customers, sommeliers, wine store owners, and an ever-growing list of importers, who love these wines as much as we do. With all the attention Natural Wines are getting in the media lately, we thought it would be fun to do a series where people talk about all the things they love about these wines.

In Part 1, we sat with Joe Campanale of Anfora.  Today, for part 2, we have an interview with Levi Dalton, one of New York’s most beloved sommeliers.  If you haven’t had the pleasure of being served by Levi, you’re really missing out.  Not only is he incredibly knowledgable about the kind of wines we love, he is absolutely hysterically funny as well.  We have fond memories of an impromptu holiday dinner the whole J&F team had when Levi was working at the now closed Alto.  Levi was completely in his element.  At one point I remember him pouring us champagne out of a double magnum, one-handed, without looking at the glass, cracking jokes at the same time, without spilling a drop. Actually I think he was pouring behind his back and also happened to be juggling some flaming torches with his free hand.  These days you can catch Levi (if you’re lucky) at one of the many Daniel Boulud restaurants.  We sat with him at Boulud Sud for this quick interview, in which Levi has some thoughts about natural wines, and winemakers, that made even us think about them in a way we hadn’t before. Check out what he had to say, and also don’t miss his hilarious blog, So You Want to be a Sommelier?