We present the wines of small vineyards in this competitive worldwide market, in order to defend an endangered species — winemakers who work like artisans, crafting a different wine each year. They do not impose a preconceived taste on their wines, but look to be surprised by what nature gives them — natural wines.
Natural wines are low-tech or no-tech. These are handmade wines in the truest sense from a group of passionate winemakers that go one step further than organic and biodynamic producers by using organic methods in the cellar as well as in the vineyard — meaning no laboratory yeasts, enzymes, sugar, artificial concentrators, acidification, or sulfites are added during fermentation, and the wines are aged and bottled without stabilizers, or excessive filtering or sulfites.
Equally important, these grower-producers take special care to reduce yields, handpick the grapes, avoid pumps or other rough treatment of their harvest, and plow the earth between the vines, which forces the roots to dive down deep in a thirsty search for terroir.
Natural wines, pure wines, real wines, wines from the terroir, complex wines, wines for thirst!
This philosophy of winemaking differentiates these wines from the all too common taste of technology-driven wines, and offers us what wines should — mystery, romance, and adventure!
We created Jenny & François Selections in 2000. We distribute our wines in New York ourselves, through USA Wine Imports. We also work with fabulous distributors in other states across the USA. We feel close in philosophy and goals to movements such as Fair Trade and Slow Foods, as well as environmental movements. Our hope is that Jenny & François Selections helps passionate winemakers, who respect the environment and high standards of quality, to continue what they do by bringing their wines to the United States. We love to educate about natural wines, and share our excitement for these wines with passionate wine professionals and individuals across the US.
Jenny & François Team:
Jenny Lefcourt, a native New Yorker, originally landed in Paris to study French film during her PhD at Harvard. After many visits to Paris wine bars and vineyards throughout France, all paths led to wine instead of academia. Jenny runs the company out of our TriBeCa office in NYC. She lives on the Upper West Side with the talented photographer James Robinson and their daughter, Zoe, born Feb. 2012.
Photo credit: @jamesrobinsonpictures.com
Read Marissa Ross’s profile of Jenny in Bon Appetit, “Jenny Lefcourt Won’t Admit that She’s the Reason You Drink Natural Wine.”
Check out 750’s Profile of Jenny Lefcourt and her Natural Wine Legacy.
Check out Levi Dalton’s interview with Jenny on Episode 27 of the I’ll Drink to that podcast.
OPERATIONS
Scott Pactor opened Appellation Wine & Spirits in Chelsea, one of the nation’s first stores to focus on organic, biodynamic and natural wines in 2005. The store was an early and enthusiastic supporter of Jenny and Francois’ portfolio. Appellation closed in 2016, but Scott has remained an avid imbiber and proponent of natural wines and is thrilled to join the team in an operations role. Scott lives in northern Manhattan with his wife and two kids and enjoys bike riding with them to the tip of the island during his free time.
Florida transplant, Ashley Cohen moved to Brooklyn in 2011 after graduating from Florida State University. Since living in New York, she has worked in Film/TV Production, Brand Marketing and Event Producing. She is thrilled to transition her passion for natural wine into a career by joining the Jenny and Francois team and working with producers she has admired for so many years. In her free time, you can find her with her three-legged pitbull Verona, roller skating in Bed-Stuy and attempting desperately to keep her garden alive.
Born and raised in Italy, Sara Severi has a master’s degree in foreign languages and literature from the University of Milan. She moved to New York in 2007 to open the US office of an Italian media research company and later ran the operations of a skincare brand in Brooklyn and managed the New York representative office of the Bank of Italy. She is now pursuing her interest in wine, and putting her WSET certificates to good use in the J&F office.
Sara lives in Spanish Harlem with her husband and two cats. She loves sport, food, travel, and reading, among other hobbies. She played soccer in her younger days and was the European karate champion in 2007.
Greg Reese comes to J&F while simultaneously doing an MBA at Baruch College in the evenings. He is certified in Accounting, Bookkeeping, and QuickBooks, and studied Music Composition in College. For the last bunch of years, Greg has been a managing partner at Hi-Note Radio Bar in New York, and before that at Baby Grand.
Originally from Long Island and having lived in NYC since 2007, Greg Farr comes to Jenny & Francois bringing over a decade of experience in the wine industry. After finishing a BFA from the School of Visual Arts in 2011, Greg went on to work for distributing & importing company USA Wine Imports until September 2023. He left USA Wine Imports managing their Order Department and is excited to bring his years of operational knowledge to Jenny & Francois and be part of such a dedicated and devoted team. Greg lives in Brooklyn where he is an avid runner & musician.
Native to New York, Joe Delgado likes to think he has as many interests as roles in the wine industry. He found his way into wine through a logistics job for a guitar retailer and a friend’s grant to study urban farming. From there he moved into operations roles, eventually spending several years in retail sales at wine shops across the city before landing here among the team at Jenny & Francois.
SALES STAFF – EAST COAST
Phil Sareil began his career in wine in 1987 working in Kermit Lynch’s now-famous Berkeley wine shop. In 1988, he tasted Marcel Lapierre’s wine at his uncle’s house in France, and after he showed the wine to Kermit, he began importing Lapierre in 1989. He worked the harvest at Domaine Lapierre in 1997, and after that moved to New York to work in wholesale wine distribution. During that time he worked for Winebow, Polaner Selections, and finally at Kermit Lynch as a regional sales manager. After 30+ years in the trade, Phil is as passionate as ever about wine and Jenny & François Selections is a perfect fit to continue his passion.
Check out Levi Dalton’s interview with Phil on episode 94 of the I’ll Drink to that podcast.
Daniel Sutton, our National Sales Manager, began working at a wine shop while studying for his degree in Economics at Michigan State University. During that time, he also worked in the fine dining scene and enjoyed many nights of cooking meals, playing music, and drinking wine with friends. It was then that his love of good wine and food evolved into a profession. In 2007, Daniel moved to New York, where he managed and purchased for one of New York’s oldest wine shops, and then worked as a sales representative in New York City. Daniel joined Jenny & Francois Selections in 2014 and is excited to manage national sales. In his spare time, he enjoys playing piano and accordion, long-distance running, learning Spanish, and watching Michigan State Basketball.
Hailing from the Everglades of South Florida, John Shirk’s first job out of college was as a valet in Philadelphia. On Sunday afternoons, he would migrate next door, with all his tips, to Tria’s Sunday School, an educational happy hour at the Philly wine cafe. Jacques Puffeney’s Arbois Trousseau was the first wine that felt different. Shortly after that glass of wine he joined the Tria team and leaned into a career in restaurant hospitality and wine education. His career followed the path of honest wines at The Four Horsemen, Rule of Thirds, Momofuku Ssam Bar, or Marlow & Sons. Outside of his passion for sharing wine, John enjoys illustrating, foam rolling, and making his partner, Cara, laugh. If you see him on the streets, don’t worry, he’s got a wine key.
David Landgraf, a cheese-loving Wisconsin native, stumbled into restaurants to pay the bills, but the side gig quickly became a career. Along the way-influenced by a few insightful books and mornings at the Dane County Farmers’ Market-he began connecting thoughtful agriculture with delicious, healthy food. His love of authentic, energetic wines budded while working in New York restaurants that championed them, starting at Isa in 2011, and continuing at Estela, Altro Paradiso, and Flora, where he served as Director of Operations. After many years in dining rooms—and working harvests in Catalonia (2022) and Beaujolais (2024)—David brings an operator’s perspective to his role at Jenny & Francois, helping teams find wines that work for their programs and making the process easy for the people on the floor.
With a degree in Environmental Studies and several years working as a chef under her belt, Leah Rinaldi feels right at home amongst the wines at Jenny & Francois. After a visit to Alsace to spend time with Christian Binner and his wines, Leah decided to leave a career in corporate events to follow her passion for natural wine. She immersed herself in the natural wine culture of Australia during a three-month sabbatical, before returning to Brooklyn to work for Jenny & Francois. When not drinking natural wine, Leah can be found rock climbing and telling dad jokes.
Hailing from Southern California, the wine bug bit Anne Estrada early & hard. She explored California’s various wine regions while studying art & nursing in college. Working for over 20 years in hospitality, Anne first started as a wine director/educator in San Diego before leaving to start her Sales career w/ Amy Atwood Selections. Co-owner of Nat Diego, San Diego’s annual celebration of natural wines/producers, Anne has worked intimately w/ Jenny & François wines for many years before making the leap to the East Coast in fall of 2019.
A Central Jersey native, Katie Keith comes to J&F with a background in events management and communications. Her experience is in higher education, supporting research groups at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ and managing US trade engagement for European wine regions. Most recently, Katie worked in wine retail and consumer tastings in Hoboken. Katie spent her undergraduate years split between Sewanee, TN and France and ultimately completed a Masters in International Relations in Paris at Sciences Po. Her interest in wine began with a crisp glass of rosé while on a summer program in Cannes and it has continued to grow over the years, both personally and professionally, with sustainable winemaking leading the way. Katie is WSET Level 2 certified.
Katie is an avid cook, travel enthusiast, and a distance swimmer, completing ocean miles up and down the Jersey Shore each summer. Katie currently lives in Hoboken with her partner and welcomes the opportunity to sell natural wines across the Garden State.
Growing up between northern CT and Piemont, Italy, Kate Angus has had a love of wine and food from a young age. After graduating with an English degree, she fell into the industry by selling natural wine on the floor at Dedalus Wine Shop, Bar, and Market in Burlington, VT. She finally answered the call to move to the big city, and cut her teeth in the NYC wine scene by managing at Verve wine for a number of years, and spending a short stint at PortoVino Imports. Having worked with natural wine and the J&F book since the early days of her wine career, she’s thrilled to be representing Jenny & Francois in New York! When she’s not pounding the pavement and popping bottles, Kate enjoys reading classic literature, teaching herself (badly) how to crochet, and hanging out with her tiny fluffy cat, Pancetta.
Matt Ross was a theater major at Lewis and Clark College and worked as a songwriter in Los Angeles for a short time before falling in love with natural wine. He sharpened his natural wine knowledge in L.A. restaurants before working for the renowned Portland natural wine bar, Dame. Returning to the East Coast this summer, he has hit the ground running with Jenny & Francois. Outside of wine, Matt loves writing, music and stand-up comedy. Say hello if you see him around town!
SALES STAFF – WEST COAST
Jess Kiefer, our California sales rep, moved to NYC from Phoenix with a degree in Broadcast Journalism and quickly found that the restaurant jobs she got to pay the rent were more fulfilling than TV News. The first natural wine she tasted was a Grolleau from Olivier Cousin and from that moment on there was no turning back. In NYC, she worked her way up to wine director of Terroir Tribeca (alongside Paul Grieco), ran the wine programs for Semilla and Le Turtle, and hosted a wine/food radio show “The Morning After” on Heritage Radio Network. In 2016 Jess brought her love of natural wine to Los Angeles where she worked as the wine director for the seminal Silverlake restaurant, Café Stella, and opened the boutique retail shop/wine bar next door, La Pharmacie du Vin. Aside from wine, Jess loves cooking and listening to NPR…usually at the same time!
Born into the suburban lands lying to the east of Los Angeles, and raised on frozen food and the religious right, Eric Tucker, currently finds himself wonderfully free yet equally inspired by it all. Eric initially established a successful career as an award winning commercial/fine art photographer working between Venice Beach, CA and the lower east side of Manhattan. After years of bi-coastal living/working and creating-opening a restaurant-club in New York City, he returned to Los Angeles full time to concept-design-fund-operate-
Originally from a Brazilian family where food and wine were always at the center of gathering, Ully Povoa has spent the past decade working across all sides of the wine world. After studying Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis, she worked in production throughout California, France, and Chile and was most recently a winemaker for a natural wine brand in Sonoma. Now based in the East Bay, she is excited to bring her background in natural wine to sales. In her free time you can find her cooking for friends, nature bathing, at a concert, or unwinding in the sauna.
COMMUNICATIONS STAFF
Sophie Dodd is a Brooklyn-based travel and wine writer who runs our social media and website. She earned her WSET 2 and has worked on vineyards in Italy, France, and Austria— most recently for harvest with J&F producers, including Christian Binner and Gut Oggau. When she’s not writing about wine, she’s likely pouring it at Frog Wine Bar in Bed-Stuy, or drinking it while practicing her French in Paris.