Pierre Jancou looks as if he has just walked of the set of a Luc Besson movie but is a chef restranteur and devotee of vin au natural. When it comes to wine the natural way he is a bit of an evangalist - a safe and intriguing one. One that demands nothing less that unsulphurated wine which is why he set up his store in Paris to cater for people with the same natural wine appreciation called More Than Organic. For the Vin Au Naturel movement some organic wine makers still interfere too much with the wine process. For them natural means just that and absolutely no intervention. There are a number of Parisian restaurants that now focus on these wines.
Pierre sources his wine from both France and Italy and insists on unsulphurated wine. "The main secret for making a natural wine without sulphur," he tells us," is elevage, the way the wine is raised." Perhaps also treated in terms of harvest time and also natural fermentation.
This movement was given life and name by the very talented Frech oneologist Jules Chuvet. In France he is regarded also as one of the best wine tasters ever. In his books he explains exactly how to make natural wine. He was also an expert in Beaujoulais and was a friend and colleague of the Nobel Prize winning biochemistry scientist Otto Warburg who he worked with to find a particular microbe for white wine. For a man with such an amazing scientific mind, oneological experience and family tradition we have to listen to what he is saying if with all his knowledge he is asking for minimal intervention in wine making to produce quality wines. He would regularly take off to spend time in Grasse the centre of perfumery where he practiced with the perfumers to perfect his sense of smell for wine.
This man had a passion for natural wines that is beginning to be intriguing to the wine enthusiasts. Due to the fact that the wine is made from low yields this could also be regarded as an artisan wine.
One wine enthusiast said of one natural wine that its unlike any sauvignon you've ever tasted! If your lucky enough to be in or passing through Paris why dont you pop into La Cave De L'Insolite wine store or listen to baroque whilst tasting at Mi Fuge Mi Raison and Le Chapequ where Olivier Camus one of the first pioneers of fine wine resides. If you want to get some insight from Pierre Jancou then head to Vivant his latest natural wine venture.
If you want know more about natural, organic or biodynamic wine check out my new book NutriWine.
The Renaissance Of Natural Wine - Vin Au Naturel