Winter 2023-2024 Natural Wine Salons
Winter 2023-2024 Natural Wine Salons
A handy calendar of international natural wine salons for December 2023 and January and February 2024. Plus: a tasting report the ERUPTED wine fest in Slovakia, and a run-down of my own 2022 wines.
Salon season is upon us! Commercial anxiety is in the air, alongside the winter chill. Numerous vignerons have remarked to me that orders for key export markets have been smaller and slower to arrive; many acknowledge that the white-hot natural wine market of recent years is undergoing a retrenchment.
One result is further fragmentation of the salon calendar, as more estates seek to present wines during this critical sales period. For example, there’s a new, as-yet-unnamed salon in Sète on January 28th, featuring many of my friends from the Hérault and beyond. The Anjou village of Rablay-sur-Layon will host not one but two micro-salons on February 3rd. Many radical natural vignerons, meanwhile, continue to peel off from established salons in favor of smaller, more like-minded events.
It can be frustrating to follow it all, but ultimately this phenomenon mirrors the increasing stratification of the natural wine market itself. There’s a flood of three-quarters, kinda-sorta, “low intervention,” semi-natural-ish wine out there today. Indiscriminate négociant purchases, machine harvesting, systematic filtration and sulfitage. I can’t blame the more principled natural vignerons for declining to appear alongside it.
The salon calendar below covers December 2023 and January and February 2024. Much of the information is still to-be-confirmed; please check back on the Substack for frequent updates. (Events organizers: if I’ve left your event out, or gotten details wrong, please get in touch!)
Lastly, here are two bonus reports for subscribers:
A TASTING REPORT from the first edition of November’s ERUPTED wine salon in the NITRA (Slovakia) town of LEVICE.
An ACCOUNT of MY 2022 VINTAGE of wines from ABANDONED VINES in the LANGUEDOC, the BEAUJOLAIS, and the LOIRET.
Many thanks for reading, as always!
WINTER 2023-2024 NATURAL WINE SALONS
DECEMBER
December 2nd: LES DIX VINS COCHONS (Saint-Rémy-sur-Durolle, FR)
SITE: Salle des fête du plan d'eau, 63550 SAINT-REMY-SUR-DUROLLE
HOURS: 10am - 7pm.
WHO: Fontedicto, Nadia Beaune, Rémi et Patricia Bonneton, Jean-Louis Pinto, Axel Prüfer, and many more. Full list here.
December 2nd: LES VINS DU COIN (Blois, FR)
SITE: La Halle Aux Grains, 2 Pl. Jean Jaurès, 41000 BLOIS
HOURS: 10am - 6pm.
WHO: Les Capriades, Les Maisons Brûlées, Clos du Tue-Boeuf, Hervé Villemade, and many more. Full list here.
December 2nd: SOUS LES COCOTIERS (Le Réunion, FR)
SITE: 134 B Ancienne RN3 97432 Ravine des Cabris, 97410 SAINT PIERRE, La Réunion
HOURS: 10am - 6pm.
WHO: Bruno Duchêne, Alexandre Bain, Maison Stephan, and more. Full list here.
December 2nd: VLECK UTRECHT (Utrecht, NL)
SITE: Vleck, Nachtegaalstraat 72, 3581 AM UTRECHT, Netherlands
HOURS: 2pm - 6pm.
WHO: Colombaia, Thomas Pico, Domaine du Pech, Joan Ramon Escoda, and more. Full list here.
December 3rd: RAW WINE BERLIN (Berlin, DE)
SITE: Markthalle Neun, Eisenbahnstrasse 42/43, 10997 BERLIN
HOURS: 10am - 6pm.
WHO: Weingut Schmeltzer, Joyda Cider, Sons of Wine, 2Naturkinder, Horst Hummel, Frank Cornelissen, and more. Full list here.
December 2nd-3rd: LA BOIRE (Nantes, FR)
SITE: L'agronaute, 18 Quai Président Wilson, 44200 NANTES
HOURS: 11am - 7pm.
WHO: Clos Fantine, Nicolas Suteau, Marc Pesnot, Marie Carroget, and many more. Full list here.
December 2nd-3rd: PETIT SALON DES VINS BIO DE TARN (Gaillac, FR)
SITE: Salle de Spectacles , 81000 GAILLAC
HOURS: Saturday 11am - 7pm. Sunday 11am - 6pm.
WHO: Keiko & Jérôme, and a lot of estates I’m unfamiliar with. Full list here.
December 2nd-3rd: GLOU GLOU CHEZ NOUS (Villèsque-des-Corbières, FR)
SITE: Auberge du Château de Bonnafous, D611, 11360 VILLESQUE-DES-CORBIERES
HOURS: 3pm - 7:30pm.
WHO: Fond Cyprès, and a lot of estates I’m unfamiliar with. Full list here.
December 2nd-3rd: LA GOULAYANCE (Paris, FR)
SITE: Ground Control, 81 rue de Charolais, 75012 PARIS
HOURS: 12pm - 7pm.
WHO: François Blanchard, Christophe Foucher, Christian Binner, François Ecot, Romuald Valot, Gérald Oustric, and many more. Full list here.
December 4th: VLECK AMSTERDAM (Amsterdam, NL)
SITE: Restaurant Contrast NDSM, Ms. van Riemsdijkweg 306, 1033 RD AMSTERDAM, Netherlands
HOURS: 12pm - 6pm.
WHO: Colombaia, Château Cambon, Domaine Lapierre, Thomas Pico, and more. Full list here.
December 9th: QUI L’EUT CRU (Lourmarin, FR)
SITE: 84160 CADENET
HOURS: 2pm - 7pm.
WHO: Ten Luberon estates, including Cadavre Exquis. List forthcoming here.
December 9th-10th: MI-LIVRE, MI RAISIN (Paris, FR)
SITE: 21 Rue Boyer, 75020 PARIS
HOURS: 10am - 8pm.
WHO: Olivier Horiot, Isabelle & Bruno Perraud, Louis-Antoine Luyt, and more. Full list here.
December 9th-10th: DE NATURA VINI (Saint Julien L’Ars, FR)
SITE: Salle Polyvalente 86800 SAINT JULIEN L’ARS
HOURS: Saturday 10am - 6pm. Sunday 10am - 5pm.
WHO: Patrick Meyer, Domaine Mosse, Domaine Tessier, Domaine Chamonard, Mathieu Coste, and more. Full list here.
December 9th-10th: EN JOUE CONNECTION (Paris, FR)
SITE: Salle du Fresne, Rue du Fresne, 49170 SAVENNIERES
HOURS: 10am - 7PM.
WHO: Romain Verger, Baptiste Cousin, Tommy Véron, Julien Rousselot, Fabrice Chaillou, Margot & Natalia, and more. Full list here.
December 10th: TONNERRE GARDE LE CAP (La Capelle-et-Masmolène, FR)
SITE: 2 Rte de Masmolène, 30700 LA CAPELLE-ET-MASMOLENE
HOURS: 10am - ?
WHO: Ad Vinum, Thomas Bouet, and a handful of other estates from the Gard. Full list here.
December 10th: SICILE A LA PECHE (Nice, FR)
SITE: Chez Le Dojo, 22bis Blvd Stalingrad, 06300 NICE
HOURS: 11am - 7pm.
WHO: Didier Grappe, Alessandro Viola, and a lot of Sicilian estates I’m unfamiliar with. Full list here.
December 14th: CHAMPAGNE DES VIGNERONS (Paris, FR)
SITE: Caves Augé, 116 blvd Haussmann, 75008 PARIS
HOURS: 4pm - 7:30pm.
WHO: Ten Champagne vignerons. List forthcoming here.
December 16th: LA FUCHINE (Saint Etienne, FR)
SITE: 20 Blvd Thiers, 42000 SAINT-ETIENNE
HOURS: 10am - 6pm. Then concerts until 11:30pm.
WHO: Nadia Beaune, Jérôme Balmet, Le Picatier, Domaine Bonnet-Cotton, Sébastien Jacques & Amélie Vuillet, Daniel Sage, and more. Full list here.
December 17th: LA CLAUDICANTE (Tours, FR)
SITE: 64 Rue du Grand Marché, 37000 Tours
HOURS: 10am - 6pm.
WHO: Clos du Tue-Boeuf, Domaine Mosse, Les Capriades, Hervé Villemade, Laurent Saillard, and more. Full list here.
JANUARY
January 9th: ATOMES GOUTUS / SALON IROMA (Paris, FR)
SITE: Bastille Design Center, 74 Bd Richard-Lenoir, 75011 PARIS
HOURS: 11am - 6pm.
WHO: Domaine Plageoles, Domaine Breton, Le Nez de Goth, Lori Haon, Alexandre Plassat, along with many estates with zero involvement in the natural wine scene. Full list here.
January 20th: BOTTLED ALIVE (Tabor, CZ)
SITE: Žižkova 249, 39001 Tábor, Czech Republic
HOURS: 11am - 6pm.
WHO: Martin Vajčner, Aleš Kovář, and more. Full list here.
Jan. 20th-21st: RENCONTRES VIN PASSION (Lyon, FR)
SITE: TBC.
HOURS: TBC.
WHO: Château Sainte Anne, Famille Chasselay, and more TBC. Full list forthcoming here.
January 21st-22nd: VINNATUR GENOVA (Genoa, IT)
SITE: Via Magazzini del Cotone, 16128 Genova
HOURS: 10am - 6pm.
WHO: Angiolino Maule, Carussin, and many other estates in Maule’s Vinnatur association. Full list here.
January 22nd: LE PARIS DES SENS (Paris, FR)
SITE: 8 avenue Dutuit, 75008 PARIS
HOURS: 9:30am - 6pm. Trade only.
WHO: Estates represented by Paris agency Le Paris des Sens. Romain Henin, Damien Bastian, Katie Worobeck, Mel Solo, Simon Gastrein, and many more. Full list here.
January 27th-28th: VIGNAIOLI NATURALI A ROMA (Rome, IT)
SITE: The Westin Excelsior, Via Vittorio Veneto, 125, 00187 ROMA
HOURS: Saturday 12pm - 8pm. Sunday 11am - 7pm.
WHO: Andrea Occhipinti, Franco Terpin, and many more. Full list here.
January 28th: LA ZOOM SUR LE VIN (Sète, FR)
SITE: Galérie Zoom, 49 Rue Pierre Semard, 34200 SETE
HOURS: 10am - 7pm.
WHO: Clos Fantine, Axel Prüfer, Joe Jefferies, L’Absurde Génie des Fleurs, PAP Wines, Jeff Coutelou, Philippe Jambon, Jérôme Guichard, Les Frères Soulier, and more. And me, presenting The World of Natural Wine.
January 28th-29th: LES VIGNERONS DE L’IRREEL (Montpellier, FR)
SITE: 188 avenue du Marché Gare, 34070 MONTPELLIER
HOURS: 10:30am - 6:30pm. There is an afterparty Sunday evening but it’s apparently already quite sold out.
WHO: Le Raisin et l’Ange, Sylvain Bock, Damien Bastien, Olivier Cohen, Ivo Ferreira, Marie Carroget, Vincent Wallard, and more. Full list here.
January 28th-29th: LE VIN DE MES AMIS (Montpellier, FR)
SITE: Halle Tropisme, 121 Rue Fontcouverte, 34000 Montpellier
HOURS: 10am - 7pm.
WHO: Laura Aillaud, Château Lafitte, Domaine de la Tournelle, Domaine Foillard, Maison Valette, and more. Full list here.
Jan. 28th-29th: LES AFFRANCHIS (Montpellier, FR)
SITE: Château de Flaugergues, 34000 MONTPELLIER
HOURS: Sunday 10am - 7pm. Monday 10am - 6pm. Trade only.
WHO: Les Vins Pirouettes, Jean-Claude Lapalu, Jean-Marie Berrux, Antoine Lienhardt, Sybil Baldassarre, Domaine Tessier, and many more. Full list here.
January 28th-29th: BIOTOP (Montpellier, FR)
SITE: Domaine des Grands Chais, route de Vauguières, 34130 MAUGUIO
HOURS: 10am - 6pm.
WHO: TBC. Full list presumably forthcoming here.
January 29th-30th: ROOTS 66 AND FRIENDS (Montpellier, FR)
SITE: Château de la Mogère, 2235 Route de Vauguiéres, 34000 MONTPELLIER
HOURS: 10:30am - 5pm.
WHO: La Cave Apicole, Loïc Roure, Clos Massotte, Antocyâme, Domaine du Pech, and many more. List here.
January 30th: LES INSOLENTS (Uzès, FR)
SITE: Les Insolents, 5 blvd Victor Hugo, 30700 UZES
HOURS: 10:30am - 6:30pm.
WHO: Les Frères Soulier, Ad Vinum, La Ferme du Cade, Thomas Bouet, Valentin Vallès, and more. Full list here.
January 31st: LE NATURE EN ARDECHE (Saint Jean de Muzols, FR)
SITE: Espace Noel Passas-Salle Polyvalente, Place des Droits de l'Homme, 07300 SAINT-JEAN-DE-MUZOLS
HOURS: 10am - 6pm.
WHO: Andrea Calek & Stephana Nicolescu, Rémi et Patricia Bonneton, and forty-eight other winemakers. Full list here.
FEBRUARY
February 1st : KATLA & AMIES (Paris, FR)
SITE: Rerenga Wines, 3 rue de la Fidelité, 75010 PARIS
HOURS: 6pm - 8pm.
WHO: A mini-tasting featuring Jas Swan of Katla, Pascale Carole, Andreas Mann, Fruktstereo, Ploder-Rosenberg, and Supreme Beings.
February 1st - 3rd : LES PENITENTES (Savennières, FR)
SITE: Salle du Fresne, rue du Fresne, 49170 SAVENNIERES
HOURS: Thursday 2pm - 6pm. Friday and Saturday 11am - 6pm.
WHO: The habitual cohorts of Thierry Puzelat, Hervé Villemade, the Mosses, and Pierre-Olivier Bohomme. Full list forthcoming here.
February 2nd: SALON LA VINOTERIE (Anjou, FR)
SITE: Domaine de la Guimardière, Le Moulin des Verzeaux, 49670 VALANJOU
HOURS: 3pm to 8pm. Dinner afterwards available upon reservation.
WHO: Gaelle et Baptiste Cousin, L'Absurde Génie des Fleurs, L’Ostal Levant, Rémi Sedes, Jean-Marie Brousset, Julien Merle, Morgane Turlier, and more.
February 2nd: LES VINS S.A.I.N.S. (Anjou, FR)
SITE: Chat Noir Chat Blanc, 1 rue Nationale, 49290 CHALONNES-SUR-LOIRE
HOURS: 3:30pm - 7:30pm.
WHO: Catherine et Gilles Vergé, Jean-Marc Tard, François Blanchard, and more. Full list here.
February 2nd - 3rd : SALON SALON (Savennières, FR)
SITE: Piano Piano, 1 Pl. du Pilori, 49170 LA POSSONNIERE
HOURS: 10am - 7pm.
WHO: Champagne Salima and Alain Cordeuil, and more. Full list here.
February 3rd: LES JU(S)VENILS (Glaine-Montaigut, FR)
SITE: 63160 GLAINE-MONTAIGUT
HOURS: 10am - 7pm.
WHO: Natural winemakers on their 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th vintage, including Les Vignes de Paulette, Raphael Raybois, and more. Full list here.
February 3rd: LE SALON SALLE A MANGER (Rablay-sur-Layon, FR)
SITE: La Mulonnière, 49750 BEAULIEU-SUR-LAYON
HOURS: 10am - 7pm.
WHO: Kenji and Mai Hodgson, Guillaume Noire, Julien Rousselot, Olivier Lejeune, Les Errances, Renaud Boyer, Christophe Lindenlaub, La Ferme du Pasteur, and more. Full list available here at some point, probably, or here.
February 3rd: SALON DE RABLAY (Rablay-sur-Layon, FR)
SITE: Salles des fêtes, 49750 RABLAY-SUR-LAYON
HOURS: 9am - 7pm. Trade only.
WHO: Bruno Rochard, Simon Batardière, Les Sablonnettes and about ten other estates. Full list available here at some point, probably. Of the two salons in Rablay, this is the one where you’ll encounter a tad more sulfitage and filtration.
Feb. 3rd: JAS SWAN’S VAN (Angers, FR)
SITE: TBC.
HOURS: 7pm - 9pm.
WHO: Jas Swan of Katla Wines, with a handful of friends. Details to come via her Instagram.
February 3rd: NATURALL (Chemillé-en-Anjou, FR)
SITE: Domaine de la Roulière, La Roulière, 49750 Chemillé-en-Anjou
HOURS: 10am - 6pm.
WHO: Partida Creus, Emilie Mutombo, Jean-Louis Pinto, Benoit Rosenberger, Babass, Clos Fantine, Alexandre Plassat, and more. Full list here.
Feb. 3rd-4th: SALON GRENIER SAINT JEAN (Angers, FR)
SITE: Pl. du Tertre Saint-Laurent, 49000 ANGERS
HOURS: 10am - 7pm.
WHO: A list of members of the Renaissance des Appellations can be found here.
February 4th: LES ANONYMES (Angers, FR)
SITE: Salons Curnonsky, 16, place Maurice Sailland, 49000 ANGERS
HOURS: 10am - 6pm.
WHO: Damien Bureau, Jean-François Ginglinger, Patrick Meyer, Joe Jefferies, Lilian Bauchet, Le Coste, Jérôme Guichard, La Sorga, and many many more. Full list here.
February 4th-5th: LA DIVE BOUTEILLE (Saumur, FR)
SITE: Caves Ackerman, 19 Rue Léopold Palustre, 49400 Saumur
HOURS: 10am - 6pm.
WHO: TBC. Full list forthcoming here.
Feb. 5th: PORTES GRANDES OUVERTES RUE DES BELLES CAVES (Berrie, FR)
SITE: 10 Rue des Belles Caves, 86120 BERRIE
HOURS: 10am - 7pm.
WHO: Twenty-five vignerons from France and beyond, including François Saint Lô, Vincent Wallard, and more. More info coming here, probably.
Feb. 5th: SUPERNATURE (Angers, FR)
SITE: Le 122, 138 rue de la Chalouère, 49100 ANGERS
HOURS: 10am - 7pm.
WHO: Organized by Pierre Rousse: Edouard Adam, Pierre Rousse, Nicolas Bastin, Sébastien Morin, Jas Swan, Les Miquettes, and more. Full list here.
February 5th-6th: LA LEVEE DE LA LOIRE (Angers, FR)
SITE: Parc des Expos, Route de Paris 49000 ANGERS
HOURS: 10am - 6pm.
WHO: Domaine Tessier, Jean-Christophe Comor, and many others, mostly just organic and not natural. Full list here.
February 5th-6th: SALON DES VINS DEMETER (Angers, FR)
SITE: Parc des Expos, Route de Paris 49000 ANGERS
HOURS: Monday 9:30am - 7pm, Tuesday 9:30am - 6pm.
WHO: TBC. Full list presumably forthcoming here.
February 11th: PORTES OUVERTES CHEZ LEONINE (Saint André, FR)
SITE: GXQP+RJ, 66690 SAINT ANDRE
HOURS: 11am - 6pm.
WHO: Domaine Leonine, Edouard Laffitte, Jean-François Nicq, Loïc Roure, Yoyo, Julien Altaber, and more. Full list here.
February 11th-12th: SALÒ DES VINS NATURALS (Barcelona, ES)
SITE: Nau Bostik, Carrer Ferran Turné, 1-11, 08027 BARCELONA
HOURS: Sunday 10am - 6pm. Monday 10am - 2pm.
WHO: Barranco Oscuro, La Perdida, and many more. Full list here.
February 11th-12th: RAW WINE PARIS (Malakoff, FR)
SITE: Espace Clacquesin, 18 avenue du Maréchal Leclerc, 92240 MALAKOFF
HOURS: Monday 9:30am - 7pm, Tuesday 9:30am - 6pm.
WHO: Joyda Cider, Nicolas Suteau, Weingut Schatzel, and Weingut Schmeltzer, along with many conspicuously large-volume négociants and estates. Full list here.
February 24th-25th: VERTIGVINEUX (Ostheim, FR)
SITE: Salle des fêtes de Ostheim, 68150 OSTHEIM
HOURS: Saturday 10am - 7pm, Sunday 10am - 6pm.
WHO: Christian Lericq, and many more. Full list forthcoming here.
This post will be updated frequently as information is confirmed. Please check back on this post on the NOT DRINKING POISON Substack before booking any travel!
FURTHER READING & LISTENING
Series 1 of the NOT DRINKING POISON Podcast: Paris Natural Wine Lifers
Series 2 of the NOT DRINKING POISON Podcast: Contemporary Paris Natural Wine
Hey Aaron,
Nice to read this article; especially the first 2 paragraphs. And I can’t agree more. For about 4-5 years now, I see the prices go up every year; some wines quadrupled (!) almost in price (only the price…). This is pure opportunistic and misplaced hype. And although, where (few) winemakers always stayed modest, (most, not all) retailers took over the flag…
It now seems “normal” to pay 60€ a bottle, even outside Champagne and Burgundy (these 2 regions “excel” in every way!). Now could come a moment that leads to a collapse of this “beautiful” world: prices too high, economic downturn (!!!) everywhere and too much so-called natural wines-and-salons (“natural”, true or not, is the magical word nowadays).
My wife and I are hardcore natural wine fans for 17 years now and luckily, we can afford higher prices; but that’s not really the point here. As I said, we saw this coming for several years now. I can easily give you names; but I’m sure you can do too. 10 years (or even) more ago, I even told many vignerons that they sold their wines too cheap; however, where a lot of the elderly stayed modest (let’s say in tune with “reality”), others (and not always the best or most honest) on the contrary…. Another huge problem since several years now are the retailers; a few years ago, there was at once a flood of retailers who wanted to join the caravan and, whereas before we could easily visit winemakers, this stopped: no wine, no time. And the prices: they took off. When I see the difference between the prices the winemakers ask and what some retailers ask, there’s a perfect moment to kill the market.
Ok, economic reality always plays a role, but it’s gone too far. We know, everything changes, evolves (and became more expensive for anyone, we realise), but we don’t see really classy salons anymore like Les 10 vins cochons or La Remise from 10 or more years ago (where we could buy wines from Hirotake Ooka for 4€!). Fortunately though, there are still salons like the last one we met in the Loire; where the prices are still modest and the quality still high! So, when we go to salons now (much less then before), it’s always to niche salons too, where we know and trust the winemakers for a long time.
But, if lately, I post wines on Instagram from “forgotten”, great winemakers (Oustric, for instance), it’s not liked…. The winedrinkers changed a lot too…. For the better …?? I’m doubtful.
Viviane and William Vermeylen
Very good ...thanks