Learn about natural wine

« Taille tôt, taille tard, rien ne vaut la taille de mars ! », ce vieux précepte préconisant la taille tardive, au moment où le printemps réveille la vigne de son sommeil hivernal, est plus que jamais à l'ordre du jour et va même désormais au-delà.

In the natural wine movement, Claude Courtois is a historical figure; he occupies a space that is at once essential and marginal. Essential because he has not once strayed from his total and uncompromising commitment to preserving the life of his soils and vineyards’ biodiversity, from his first vines in Provence in the 1980s - abandoned because of recurring fires - to the creation in 1992 of his estate Les Cailloux du Paradis in the Loire Valley.

In their immense diversity, vine plants – grape varieties - are distinguished from one another by their physical characteristics (i.e., the shape and size of leaves, bunches), by their particular aptitudes to adapt to a terroir and to its historical and cultural traditions, and finally by their singular ability to convey a particular place into wines of character.

The ancestral or rural method, the Champagne or traditional method, pet nats: the art of effervescent or sparkling wine takes many shapes and forms.

Beaujolais has long been the preferred terroir for gamay, ever since the grape variety was deemed unsuitable for the Pinot Noir terroirs of the Côte d'Or at the end of the 14th century. With its early ripening, fewer problems with cultivation and good yields, not to mention the crisp fruit and juiciness of its wines, Beaujolais Gamays quickly gained a reputation for being easy-drinking and ready to drink when young.

The proliferation of synthetic chemicals and corrective techniques for vine cultivation and winemaking in the post-Second World War period paved the way for the industrialisation and standardisation of wines. In contrast to this development, which contradicts the notion of Appellations of Origin, many winegrowers have affirmed their commitment to the natural and authentic expression of their terroir, thus putting themselves on the fringes of an AOC system that generates labels that are too...

In harmony with our philosophy, the notion of "natural" wine is becoming increasingly important in the practices of winemakers and in the choices of consumers. For winemakers, the notion of "nature" is based on the idea that wine is not a simple "artefact": for man it is at once food and a source of pleasure.