what's in the carafe?

I’ve always wanted to be punk rock, but I’ve never been able to play the part. The closest I got was an affinity for grunge in the early 90s—which kind of counts? The Ramones, the Clash, and the Sex Pistols were major influences on all of my friends and still are today, but for some reason I could never get into it. Eventually I gave up and accepted that I would always be a diehard Pulp fan. Then something happened to me years ago, something that would give me hope to channel my inner rebel and lift my fist in the air “en résistance,” I discovered...natural wine. I know wine doesn't seem edgy, but give me a chance to explain and you'll see what I mean. In the minds of most, wine is either something elite or something that comes in a box. Conventional but expensive wine and cheap swill represent the majority of the wine out there. But neither, not even the expensive stuff, usually tastes very good. Natural wine is the future. And The old guard wine establishment isn't

Noëlla Morantin - Pouilé - Touraine 2016 Chez Charles - Sauvignon Blanc + 40 years old Soil: Clay, limestone & Silex Vinification: 12 months in old barrels. Nose: A little bit hard and closed, a lot of minerals, tech candy, pears and yellow apples. Mouth: Apples, pears, celeriac, salt and really juicy and fresh. Food: I would love to serve it with asparagus, roasted nuts and a buttery cream with vinegar and a little chili. Noëlla quit her job 2001 and went to a school to learn about making wine and soon she become a trainee att Agnès and René Mosse in Loire. 2004 she was in charge for Les Bois Lucas owned by Japanese Junko Arai, where she vinified natural wines from organic vineyards. She was looking for here own vineyards and an opportunity was that Didier Barrouillet and Catherine Roussel of Clos Roche Blanche wanted to downsize their surface by half and the vineyards benefited from years of organic farming if Didier. 2008 she took a loan at the bank and set up her own

Jérôme Lambert - Champs-Sur-Layon - Anjou 2013 - ”Un Brin Gourmand” - Chenin Blanc The process for this white is, pressing the grapes, fermentation in tanks on the wild yeast and bottling after 18 months on old barrels. Soil: Schist Nose: Really amazing flavors of rhubarbs, dusty road and dry grass. Mouth: Mature but still green, with a hint of nettles, litchi and minerals. Amazing acidity and it feels really fresh in the mouth. Food: I would like to serve it with weal, creamy salsify, fresh potatoes, and chervil. A salesman in in his former life and started to work in the vineyards 2003 with Philippe Cesbron, in the same time he started to make wine by his own with grapes that were leftover. He started to make one barrel and now after 16 years he has 4 hectares. The first year he was adding sulfites but he didn’t like the taste so after that he vinifies without. Jérôme makes 4 maybe 5 different cuvées of Gamay, Grolleau and Chenin Blanc. He also takes care of

FRANK CORNELISSEN Frank made his first vintage 2001 and it was just 500 bottles in the Northern Valley of Etna. Over the past 15 years his wines have come a long way, he is now making high-definition, Single-Vineyards in a precis way with his personality reflected in the glass. Frank says that the cellar is an important instrument with enables man to make the wines express themselves to their best and show their territorial identity thanks to the grapes cultivated by man in harmony with Nature. The style of his wines can be compared to that of Barolo, Burgundy, or even a combination of both. 2017 Munjebel Rosso  Nerello Mascalese from several of his cru’s including Zottorinoto-Chiusa Spagnolo, Feudo di Mezzo-Porcaria, Crasà and Piano dei Daini. The average age is 60 years. 2016 RossoMunjebel CR (Campo Re) 70+ year old Nerello Mascalese vines grown at 735m evolution on the western side of Etna’s northern valley. Nose: Dried spices, black cherry, black pepper and tar