Jean-Christophe Garnier

Jean-Christophe spent a good decade working as a sommelier at some finer establishments in France. Being from Bretagne originally, his heart was leaning more towards the true and original in life, rather than the polished trappings of higher society - and during his time in restaurants, he fell in love with natural wines and the people behind these beauties. He knew he had to make natural, unmasked wine, true to its terroir. After working in different wineries - an internship at Mark Angéli's amongst other places - and earning his degree in winemaking, he installed himself in Anjou with only a couple hectares and an old basket press and began making wine from Chening Blanc, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. JC's wines are a testament to his love and passion for pure expression of grape and terroir. Because of his basket press, which presses the grapes over the course of 1-2-3 days, his Chenins get a chance to develop their slightly oxidized notes of ripened apples and perfumy quinze. His Cabernets are juicy but firm, due to the slightly prolonged pressing method. JC also makes a sweeter wine, Likor, which is etheric in its balance of sweetness and acidity, coupled with slighlty oxidized and even oxidative notes. Some of these may even be slighly sparkling, as they see no sulfur or filtration. Yum!