We’re delighted to reveal the latest issue of our No.3 magazine, which explores the theme of “craft”. In this edition, we meet the coopers of Loch Lomond Distillery, discover how winemakers craft extraordinary expressions in extreme conditions, and explore Piedmont through the photographer’s lens. 

Let me start by painting a specific picture. At Bodiam Castle in East Sussex, the walls are marked with all manner of strange etchings. Names of visitors from bygone centuries, lovers’ initials, circles to protect against witchcraft. Carved into the sandstone, these walls have a unique patina, textured with the passage of time. The oldest markings of all are rudimentary stars and arrows. These are the signatures of the 14th century bricklayers, etched into each block so they could be paid accordingly at the day’s end. 

A simple signature, the maker’s mark. It takes seconds to etch, but the information it contains is vital. Like all graffiti, it is a declaration: I was here. I made this. It speaks to the artisan’s personhood, their presence in the world. The things we create contain a little part of us, preserving our memory for posterity. In this way, craft makes space for a dialogue through time. We pick up the threads of those who have come before us, while speaking directly to future generations. 

The spirit of craft lies at the heart of the latest issue of our No.3 magazine. It is a celebration of creativity and all sorts of labours of love. We raise a glass to makers and craftspeople of all stripes – from winemakers and teamakers to coopers and photographers. We travel to wild frontiers, meeting the producers collaborating creatively with extreme forces. We take a closer look at the everyday objects that live in our homes, the signs that adorn our streets, and in doing so, we reveal the quiet magic that craft lends to our daily lives. 

This is just a brief taste of what lies in this issue. There’s plenty more besides that too, but I wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise.  

Delve into our digital magazine here or pick up a printed copy in our Basingstoke Shop, our Wine Shop at 63 Pall Mall, or our Spirits Shop at No.1 St James’s Street

Home to a selection of grape varieties producing widely diverse wine styles, the Loire is a dream region for food matching. Here, we explore some of its pairings for shellfish.  

As one of the most diverse wine regions in France, possibly even Europe, the Loire has all manner of wine styles to please any palate. Names like Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé are among its best-known appellations – these crisp, tart Sauvignon Blancs have been regulars on wine lists for years. But there is so much more to explore.

The wide range of colours and styles make Loire wines a superb choice for food pairing, whatever the flavours or textures of the food in question.

Forming the backbone of the Loire is the Loire River – the longest in France. While we might be talking freshwater here rather than saltwater, the Loire does reach over to the west coast of France. Here, the Pays de la Loire meets the Bay of Biscay where both oysters and moules can be found.

Speaking of oysters, let’s start with these exalted bivalves and a Loire wine to complement them. After all, life can’t always be Champagne and oysters.

Muscadet, in my opinion, is a somewhat maligned and misunderstood appellation. It is sometimes disregarded for being too subtle or unassuming, but I think this does it a disservice. It is delicate and elegant. If we follow the adage of wine pairing that “what grows together, goes together” then a delicate Muscadet from the coastal Loire is a shellfish lover’s dream.

Made from the Melon de Bourgogne grape, Muscadet is light and fresh – it must be 12.5% ABV or less, according to the laws of the appellation. It plays more of a supporting role with food partners, highlighting certain elements in your dish. Its crispness and high acidity are heavenly with oysters, especially those which have been sourced off the coast of Vendée, also in the Loire – the very embodiment of “growing and going together”.

Jumping the length of the Loire river and moving to the far east of the region, we land in Pouilly-Fumé. These crisp and mineral wines are made from Sauvignon Blanc. While they do have expected Sauvignon Blanc characteristics of citrus and green fruit, there is much more complexity and richness here than you’d find in your average bottle of Sauvignon.

The name itself (Fumé) confirms the slightly smoky, gunflint element you will find in Pouilly-Fumé which make it a beautiful match with prawns. But you need not worry here about fancy sauces. Unadulterated, freshly shelled prawns with oven-warm crusty bread and a cool glass of Pouilly-Fumé are a trio of tempered, briny tang.   

Another technique for food and wine pairing (but certainly not a foolproof one) is that of matching a food’s colour with a wine of a similar shade. Lighter coloured food like chicken, therefore, pairs with white wines. By this notion then, our shelly adventure with the wines of the Loire should stop with the whites. Red wine lovers will be delighted to hear this is not so.

The Sancerre appellation may be best known for its white wines, but it is red Sancerre that I want to talk about here – but by all means, please do pair a bowl of moules marinières with a white Sancerre.

Made with 100% Pinot Noir, red Sancerre is a light wine with red fruit flavours and often, some leafy and more savoury notes (particularly as it ages). It makes a very pretty match with fruits de mer but again, hold the sauce here and let the wine and the shellfish work their magic alone. It even sits well alongside some of the richer, meatier shellfish like brown crab or even lobster as the acidity cuts through the brine.

Ultimately, whenever you plan to enjoy a bottle of wine with some delicious fare – be it seafood, salad or lamb shank – there is always one question you should ask yourself first. Is it good to drink? That is the delicious oyster and the rest is just shell. 

Our Loire offer is now live. Explore the full range and discover more here.

The question of “natural” wine is among the industry’s most contentious. Everybody has an opinion. But should we really consider wine in such polarised terms? Nick Kemball from our Events team doesn’t think so.

I once heard someone joke that if you put five wine professionals in a room, you’ll end up with 10 opinions. Wine is a subject many people are passionate about. At its best, it serves as a centrepiece for conversation, with discussions flowing as freely as the contents of the bottle. But wine can also spark heated debates. And in my own experience, nothing gets wine enthusiasts more fired up than the question of “natural” versus “conventional” winemaking. 

There’s a great divide in the wine industry, it seems – one where it sometimes feels like you have to pick a side. I remember telling a tutor that my Coravin (a wine preservation system) didn’t work as well for the natural wines I was selling at the time. Their response, or at least the PC version of it: “Well, that’s your own fault for working with natural wines.” Though said tongue-in-cheek, this reflects a common sentiment in the industry.  

On the other hand, drinkers of natural wine would argue that the more intervention that takes place – additives, or mechanical processes like filtering – the more detached the wine becomes from its origin.  

There are valid arguments in both camps. But it’s also too complex and nuanced a topic to approach with a black-and-white perspective. And should you really have to pick a side? 

Organics and biodynamics

The term “natural” mainly refers to the winemaking process, such as avoiding additives. It says little about how the grapes were grown. Being organic or biodynamic isn’t a requirement for natural winemaking, though most natural winemakers will adopt these practices. 

Organics is an easy enough concept to get one’s head around. It primarily means that chemical fertilisers, fungicides and herbicides are forbidden (or, more accurately, “controlled”, as some may still be permitted in organic viticulture).  

The same is true of biodynamics, though this is a holistic approach to farming that views the vineyard as an organism in its own right: what is removed through viticulture must be replenished in the form of treatments. One such treatment is Preparation 500, which consists of cow manure buried in a horn. For traditionalists, there’s also an aspect of biodynamics that considers cosmic movements and their effects on the vine’s cycle – one reason, perhaps, why biodynamics is often dismissed as junk science. But whatever one’s view on these slightly less tangible concepts, the value of minimising chemical use of the vineyard, while also revitalising it, cannot be understated. 

Whether a producer is venturing down the organic or biodynamic route, the requirements may vary depending on their location, and there are a few certifying bodies to choose from: both Biodyvin and Demeter offer biodynamic certification, for example. Usually, they involve quite a rigid framework and with a lengthy and costly conversion process. 

In areas with more challenging, disease-prone climates, like Bordeaux, it’s a significant sacrifice to tie one’s colours to the mast of organics or biodynamics. In these regions, winemakers may decide to adopt these principles without following them to a “t”. By doing so, they forfeit the right to label their bottles as organic or biodynamic.  

This has led to slightly muddied waters, where its commonly accepted for a winemaker to say they “practice” organic or biodynamic farming without certification. Many producers find these certifications too prescriptive. As talented Burgundy vigneron Benjamin Leroux puts it: “If biodynamics is treated like a recipe, it doesn’t work.” 

Making wine naturally 

There aren’t many rules when it comes to natural winemaking – though there have been attempts at certification, most notably with Vins Méthode Nature in France. Really the term “natural” refers to a commonly agreed set of practices.  

First: using wild yeasts found naturally on grapes and in the air (rather than “commercial” yeast from a packet) to convert sugar to alcohol. The aim of this is usually producing more complex and varied aromas, a concept familiar to any sourdough bakers. Second: minimising additives and preservatives, like sulphur dioxide, to prevent the wine from tasting sterile (or, in high enough quantities, like sulphur). And third: avoiding processes like fining or filtration, to retain flavour and texture. 

What’s interesting is that, in isolation, these practices are not as contentious as you might think, even among the most classic wines of the world. Bordeaux Classified Growths like Château Palmer have recently adopted wild-yeast fermentations, while leading Burgundian producers like Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and Domaine Dujac have been using them for as long as can be remembered. It’s also quite common to minimise sulphur to enhance a wine’s aromatic profile. At Camille Giroud, winemaker Carel Voorhuis reduces sulphur at the crushing stage to produce wines with more open, generous aromatics. Nonetheless, he remains resolutely “not into the vin nature thing”. 

Fining and filtration are usually mentioned in the same breath. But winemakers like David Ramey, Californian Chardonnay guru, point out that these two processes shouldn’t be joined at the hip. Fining is a technique that uses additives (like egg white, casein from milk products or bentonite clay) to remove unwanted particles by binding with them and settling out. Ramey views filtration as much more industrial: passing wine through a porous medium, sometimes fine enough to remove bacteria and yeast. And it’s certainly compelling to see what this balanced approach can achieve. Ramey’s Chardonnays possess an incredible balance of rich texture against fine, clean and precise flavours. 

Navigating the middle ground 

A colleague recently mentioned to me that, although sceptical about natural winemaking, he viewed it as a force for good. This is a perspective I can relate to: being discerning in one’s tastes, while recognising that natural winemaking techniques can enhance quality – albeit with a greater risk of things going wrong. I’m sure the debate will pervade the industry for a while longer, and I’ll find myself in another heated conversation around a dinner table. But with so many of the world’s finest wines finding their place in the middle ground, why choose a side?

Browse our range of certified organic wines.

Frédéric Cayuela is one of our Account Managers in Tokyo, having worked around the world in the wine trade for the last 12 years. Here, he shines a light on the Japanese market – what’s changed since he’s been based there, and what the future might hold.  

My initial interest in wine began as a teenager. I was in Roussillon in the South of France, curiously observing my grandfather drinking his daily glass of wine. My palate was too young, not yet seasoned, so the finer flavours were lost on me. But this memory, combined with my first harvest at the age of 14, stirred an early interest in wine. 

My experience in the wine industry spans 12 years, two of which are here at the Berry Bros. & Rudd office in Tokyo. With about 25 different certifications, I am the embodiment of a “wine nerd”. During my time in France and Singapore, I worked in wine sales; and in Japan, I worked in wine media and as an instructor at the renowned Academie du Vin in Tokyo. 

Japan is a very mature wine market. When I arrived here five years ago, I was thrilled to meet some of the most knowledgeable Burgundy and Bordeaux experts I have ever encountered. That said, the Japanese market has undergone a significant transformation over the past few decades. The high-end French labels that were dominant in the ’90s and early 2000s have given way to a growing demand for Italian wines. This shift can be attributed, in part, to the rise of Italian restaurants in the country, which have quickly become the new standard, replacing the classic French gastronomic establishments. 

Beyond classic and renowned winemakers, I am seeing a growing interest in lesser-known and niche growers. Some regions and producers in this vein are proving especially popular: new generations of artisans in Burgundy such as Pierre Girardin, Alvina Pernot and Théo Dancer; and Dhondt-Grellet and Frédéric Savart in Champagne. There is a harmony between Japanese winemaking and an artisanal approach. Local makers produce wine of a very good quality; their pioneering works are widely admired and they are often depicted as superstars, which is heartening to see.  

I love the fact that Berry Bros. & Rudd has access to thousands of fine wines, unlike some other merchants. The plethora of opportunities means that every day at work is unique. How exciting! Personally, I have a strong inclination towards the wines of Burgundy and Champagne. I’m a passionate advocate for small new growers and artisan makers, and I’m delighted they’re proving popular with the local market here too. 

I also think that Mediterranean wine regions have a bright future in Japan, due to the emergence of a new generation of inventive winemakers. Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the South of France. Rioja and Priorat in Spain. My own French and Spanish origins may have influenced me here, but I’m always amazed by the talent and adaptability of growers in these regions to cope with the rising temperatures and effects of global warming.  

The Japanese market is endlessly exciting, and all sorts of regions and styles have a future here. I’m looking forward to seeing what the years ahead will bring.