Local Heroes of the Côte d'Or
Issue 8 is here ! Further forays into Burgundy's blossoming natural wine underground.
French acquaintances are often puzzled when I insist the most cosmopolitan town in France, after Paris, is Beaune.
Beaune town center may be a middlebrow tourist trap, but around no other wine town in France does one find such a bustling community of well-travelled, tasteful outsiders, from America, England, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Germany, and beyond. Lately they’re revitalizing the Côte d’Or like never before, with négociant projects, restaurants, a coffee company, a forthcoming natural wine tasting, and the occasional open-air concert. (On all of which, more below.)
This inviting, collegial community is the reason I’m continually musing about relocating to Beaune.1 And it’s the theme of ISSUE 8: “Local Heroes of the Côte d’Or.”
Inside, you’ll find:
A feature on the natural wine négociant (and Kermit Lynch export manager) CHRIS SANTINI, whose collaborative cellar in Auxey helped incubate a generation of DYNAMIC YOUNG NATURAL WINEMAKERS in Burgundy.
A profile of laconic Hautes Côtes vigneron ARNAUD CHAPUIS, whose MAJESTIC, unsulfited, long-pressed aligotés and pinot noirs are like MONUMENTS to a more paysan era of Burgundy winemaking.
A photo-essay from CHRISTIAN KNOTT of DOMAINE DANDELION about the cult Hautes Côtes estate’s first CIDER vintage. (No paywall.)
An INTERVIEW with Meursault’s original natural wine radical, RENAUD BOYER, of whose shining SAINT ROMAIN wines a trusted vigneronne friend recently commented, “They’re on the level of Overnoy, for me.”
A visit to the construction site of natural wine négociants ANDREW AND EMMA NIELSEN’s new cellar in MELOISEY, replete with a barrel tasting of their 2021 LE GRAPPIN wines.
An INTERVIEW with artist-turned-coffee roaster MATT MCCLUNE of SAINT ROMAIN COFFEE COMPANY, who made the most of COVID downtime by bringing world-class artisanal coffee to the Côte d’Or. (No paywall.)
A profile of ROMAIN CHAPUIS of CHAPUIS FRERES (no relation to the aforementioned Arnaud), whose pragmatic approach to affordable, low-sulfite Burgundy winemaking yields some STRIKING SUCCESSES.
An article on MEURSAULT natural wine bistrot LA GOUTTE D’OR, whose proprietors YUKI AND THOMAS BROYER pivoted, during Covid lockdowns, to offering take-out PIZZA, KARAAGE, and SUSHI, essentially saving the community. (No paywall.)
A LIVE PERFORMANCE of ENDEARING DAD ROCK from the hottest band in Auxey-Duresses, THE AUXEY MORONS, several of whose members appear elsewhere in the issue. (No paywall.)
The tenth story of this issue will arrive separately next week, because it concerns an event that will occur this Sunday, July 24th:
A report on HAUT LES MAINS, a wildly anticipated natural wine tasting in SAINT AUBIN, organized by my friend JON PURCELL of VIN NOE at his cellar in the village of Gamay.
In addition to uniting a rising generation of savvy, sought-after young natural winemakers, Haut Les Mains marks my own first wine salon appearance as a “winemaker.”
I’ll be presenting the two micro-cuvées I made in Faugères in 2021.2 Production is too small to actually sell any bottles. (To do so would also be, technically, illegal.) I’ll just be drawing attention to this here Substack, trading bottles with friends, and, of course, promoting pre-orders of The World of Natural Wine.
Speaking of which, I’d like to send a heartfelt thanks to everyone who has pre-ordered so far ! With a special shout-out to friends and readers in the wine profession who have inquired about stocking the book for retail. We’re rocketing up the charts!3
I’m still offering a six-month paid gift subscription to this Substack to anyone who pre-orders the book before September. You know the superstition about how every time you light a cigarette with a candle, a sailor dies? Every time you pre-order a book by a struggling first-time author, an angel descends, bearing recoupment to the publisher for a small portion of the author's advance.
Many thanks for reading, as always !
FURTHER READING
ISSUE 7: Unknown Legends of Bourgogne
ISSUE 6: What is Natural Champagne?
ISSUE 5.5: Volcanic Occitanie
ISSUE 5: Tales from Faugères
ISSUE 4.5: From Arles to Uzès
ISSUE 4: The Avant Gard
ISSUE 3.5: Reasons to Be Cheerful in the Jura
ISSUE 3: Lorraine to the Mosel
ISSUE 2.5: Postcards from Ardèche
ISSUE 2: Anjou Milestones
ISSUE 1: Unknown Beaujolais
If I haven’t gotten around to it yet, it’s because I can’t quite afford to buy a car, and the apartment where I tend to stay in Beaune is borderline uninhabitable in the winter months.
More about the wines in a future newsletter.
For those averse to Amazon, The World of Natural Wine is also available for pre-order from Book Depository, and many independent bookstores around the world.