Since 2011, the Méli-Mélo duo has grown wines just outside of Molamboz, currently working about 1,5ha—a rather small assemblage of plots—of mixed vines. Chardonnay, Savagnin, Poulsard and Pinot Noir grow just behind their house on the Rue des Vignes (the Street of Vines), conveniently close by for early-morning work with the horse and regular check-ups of the grapes. Additionally, they have small plots around Arbois, the heart of Jura winemaking, and in Montigny-lès-Arsures, north of Arbois, where other varieties contribute to their cuvées, such as Gamay and Trousseau.

ean-Christophe Jézéquel is probably one of the next promising talent in the Loire Valley. We met him back in 2018 on a wine fair in Blois and we will never forget the thrill and surprise it was when we got to drink his first vintage, a superb Sauvignon Blanc that left us absolutely speechless.

Like so many other natural winemakers, Gregory Leclerc left behind a different career in favour of grapes and cellars. Fortunately for Gregory though, his former job as wine journalist in Paris gave him a bit of headstart over some of the others who chose the same route.

Michel Autran, former doctor, decided wine might be more his thing. Some people buy a convertible Porsche, while others learn about Chenin Blanc from some renowned winemakers in order to make their own.

Jean-Pierre Robinot is a bit of a natural wine celebrity, but don’t tell him we said that. He opened a natural wine bar in Paris in 1989, and later even founded a natural wine journal in France. He doesn’t grow his grapes on the banks of the Seine though.

Axel Prüfer moved from East Germany to France and began his journey in winemaking. He worked for and learned from other natural winemakers and in 2003 he founded his own domaine, Les Temps des Cerises. His vineyard is in Languedoc, nestled in l’Hérault surrounded by forests.

Sybil is one of the most energetic winemakers that we know. She has a diploma as oenologue and has worked as a winemaking consultant in conventional and organic wineries. Sybil could not keep on working with a foot in each wine camp, so she started looking for a vineyard for herself, and she found one in 2015.

In 1993, François had reached the ripe old age of 27 and he started making wine. He rents 2 hectares of vines and also owns 0.25 of a hectare that he recently planted in some beautiful Jura limestone scree in the south of Bugey. At the time he was the only one in the region to make “pure juice” wines.

Grégoire and Judi Perron started La Combe aux Rêves after they found a small, beautiful, over 100 year old vineyard of very old Ploussard/Poulsard vines. In the village of Journans, somewhere happily in the middle of nowhere between the Jura and Savoie.

Always up for a challenge, Anne wanted to make different wines than her husband, with different grapes on a different terroir. She also realized that she needed her own vines for the style of wine that she felt inspired to make.

Philippe worked for almost 10 years as an apprentice to winemaker Alain Chabanon in Languedoc. After his winemaker classes, he decided to make wines abroad to learn different methods and how to work in different winemaking environments.

The Gautiers are a young couple with a young winery vibrating with energy and ideas. Tom is French and Miha is Romanian.
They create wines in Languedoc but also use the project to promote Romanian viticulture

Christian Ducroux is an encyclopedia of how to make wine without additives, and is considered by his winemaking peers, both in Beaujolais and beyond, as an example to follow.

Vincent Stoeffler runs this family estate in the Bas-Rhin near Strasbourg. His goal is that his wines express the terroir from which it sprung.

Bruno Schloegel gave up an office life to take over the family winery, where he and his son Théo produce incredible ultra-low-intervention wines.

Alsatian wine is not known to be made with skin maceration, but then there’s Jean-Marc Dreyer, who shows the beauty that skin contact can bring.