Wine Producers

Here we share stories of some of our wine makers. We work with wine-makers who love to make wines that are full of energy, life and the stories of their land - every wine maker is different and each wine is unique. It’s this that excites us so much about natural wine, and we hope it excites you too. Each month we’ll bring you the stories of the growers, makers and the journey they and their wine taker together.

Francois Saint Lo, SAMUR

Francois St-Lô has quickly become a favourite wine maker of ours, and a rising star in the world of natural wine; quite a feat considering his first vintage was only in 2012. After apprenticing for Olivier Cousin, Baptiste Cousins’ father, he managed to acquire a beautiful place in the Anjou region of the Loire. His cellar is a vast expanse of underground caves with an 18th century wine press, where Francois manages to make soulful, vibrant wines using his few hectares worked with his horse. His wines are increasingly precise and perfect varietal expressions of Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc, yet still ethereal and brimming with life - a testament to his unique winemaking touch.

Imported by Wrights Wines

Podere Pradolar, Emilia Romagna

The Pradarolo Farm is located in Serravalle, the town of Varano dè Melegari, in the lower valley of Ceno, Parma. It was purchased by the Carretti family in 1971 and from 1989 the farm was gradually converted to the production of wines, reviving an old way of life on the farm. The estate is placed in the Parma hills 250 -500 metres above sea level and has been a certified organic farm since 2004. The climate is also tempered by a cooling sea breeze.

Alberto and Claudia now oversee the winemaking. They work organically, and use ancient viticultural techniques with long macerations of both red and white grapes and native yeasts, to achieve stable and age-able natural wines, with an originality and a flavour reflective of its terroir. The wines honour local tradition using indigenous grapes such as Malvasia di Candia Aromatica for the white and Barbera, Croatina (Bonarda), Termarina (pink Corinto) for the red wines, and the cuvées are named after Serravalle’s old antique names, a nod to their rich cultural history and deep connection to their terroir.

Imported by Ancestrel Wines

François Écot, BUrgundy

François Écot is one of the original avant garde producers in the French winemaking world. Once a jazz pianist who worked and drank in natural wine bars, such as Le Baratin in its early days, discovering the then-unknown producers who have since become legends of natural and biodynamic winemaking. François moved to New York, initially due to his love for jazz, but It was there that François co-founded the vanguard import business (Jenny + François Selections) that would introduce natural wine to New York.

In 2000, François moved back to his family home in Mailly-le-Château, a village in north-eastern Burgundy where he began his winemaking journey. François farms a small plot, resting on a slope that edges on the corner of Chablis, having planted six varieties of indigenous grapes: Pinot Noir, Gamay, Pinot Beurot, César, Pineau d’Aunis, and Abouriou. When the vintage allows, François vinifies one special and rare cuvée from this parcel in his small garage-like vat room and experiments with oak, concrete, and amphora ageing to create playful and completely captivating wines.

As Ancestrel Wines wright, “Out of necessity, with such a small plot of his own, François has always had a focus on his négociant winemaking. A project produced under the name L’insolent, which accurately describes his attitude towards his cellar work, where he throws aside the traditional Burgundian winemaking techniques and often even the grapes that Burgundy is known for. Producing Chasselas and Grenache in the past and now moving on to create, possibly for the first time in Burgundian history, an amphora-aged Xarel.lo and a barrel-aged Tempranillo, which will be bottled next year.”

Imported by Ancestrel Wines

Jean Yves Peron, Haute-Savoie

Jean-Yves Peron grows on the steep valleys of the Haute-Savoie, an impressive undertaking in itself. Not only this, but he manages to capture this alpine freshness so beautifully - there are very few wines we’ve tasted that are as evocative of their terroir as Peron’s, always brimming with alpine herbs and fresh mountain breeze.

JYP studied oenology in Bordeaux and spent a few years working with winemakers around France and beyond. In 2004 he returned to the Savoie and started to collect small parcels planted with old vines of local varieties and now has around 1.5 hectares of Jacquere, Altesse, Rousanne and Mondeuse plots, which he vinifies separately.

Jean-Yves also enjoys using specific winemaking techniques and his bottles therefore have a unique and distinctive character. He ferments in whole bunches for his white and red grapes for varying amounts of times and all his wines undergo some carbonic maceration, pigeage and skin maceration. They are then aged in Bordeaux barrels, generally six months for the whites and a year or more for the reds - this contact with oxygen bringing a roundness and a welcome oxidative quality to their high acidity and freshness.

This incredibly labour intensive approach in the vineyards and cellar produces wines that are textured yet delicate, luscious yet assertive and singing with personality. A firm favourite amongst our team and a joy to have on the list!

Imported by Gergovie Wines