Contemporary Paris Natural Wine - Part II
Three new podcast episodes, featuring interviews with Crislaine Medina of Le Cheval d'Or, Oliver Gage of Rock Bottles, and Nathan Ratapu of Rerenga Wines.
Bonjour, folks! Series II of the NOT DRINKING POISON PODCAST continues with a further survey of CONTEMPORARY PARIS NATURAL WINE. Here are three more interviews with the Paris restaurateurs, wine retailers, and sommeliers who are creating new contexts for natural wine in the French capital.
At 19th-arrondissement restaurant LE CHEVAL D’OR, Cape Verde-born, American-raised sommelière and restauratrice CRISLAINE MEDINA and her sommelier Taiki Sakurai are looking beyond the classic French regions to create a natural wine list as COLLABORATIVE and MULTICULTURAL as their restaurant’s globe-trotting team and cuisine - and making it work in Paris. Listen to the podcast here. (No paywall.)
At Montmartre’s ROCK BOTTLES, longtime British expat and former rock singer OLIVER GAGE combines a stellar radical natural wine selection with a record store corner curated by his friend and business partner Sébastien Rosat of TRANSVERSALES DISQUES. Listen to the podcast here.
At his wine and book shop RERENGA WINES near Gare du Nord, young American expat NATHAN RATAPU places natural wine squarely in the context of PROGRESSIVE POLITICS, with shelves full of titles emphasizing inclusivity, decolonization, and social justice. Listen to the podcast in which I possibly cancel myself (or at least betray our age gap) here.
That rounds out Series II of the podcast - for now. I’ll release more chats with innovative Paris natural wine personalities who speak fluent English when the occasions arise. In the meantime, stay tuned for the first installment of Series III, which will arrive before the end of the year.
Lastly, here are few upcoming tastings and salons where I’ll be signing copies of The World of Natural Wine and offering pours of my own peculiar wines from abandoned vines:
Dec. 13th - Rock Bottles (Paris, FR) - A double-bill tasting + book signing with my friend Jon Purcell of Vin Noé at Oliver Gage’s Montmartre wine shop. From 5pm - 8pm.
Jan. 20th - Bottled Alive! (Tàbor, CZ)
Jan. 28th - Galerie Zoom (Sète, FR)
Many thanks for listening! Come say hi at Rock Bottles tomorrow if you happen to be in Montmartre!
FURTHER LISTENING & READING
NDP Podcast Series II: Contemporary Paris Natural Wine, Part I
Ep. 7: Oliver Lomeli of Chambre Noire
Ep. 8: Jessica Yang & Robert Compagnon of Folderol & Le Rigmarole
Ep. 9: Louis Mesana of Café Montezuma
NDP Podcast Series I: Paris Natural Wine Lifers, Part I
NDP Podcast Series I: Paris Natural Wine Lifers, Part II