Friendly Illinois Brethren...some questions about natural wine:
1) Assume we have *something* available here?
2) Are these wines on shelves or do you need to know a guy?
3) Do we get any here that would be of interest to someone in another part of the country (say, CA)?
If the answers to the above are yes, shelves, yes - I would follow that up with an ask for recommendations on bottles and locations that have said bottles.
Thanks in advance for any natty wine tips!
Edit: hello LMGTFY:
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Will still take more direct/personal recs - thanks.
Diversey and Red & White Wines on Milwaukee are your best bet for these kinds of wines, as they are only carrying wines that would "fit" this rather undefined category. There is some overlap between the two, but both places have curated selections that are pretty exclusive of each other, so both are worth a stop.
Even though you don't need to "know a guy" per se, I still highly recommend talking to someone in the shop. Everyone that works at both locations is incredibly friendly, and will help you navigate the selections they have. Getting to know your merchant is huge! It doesn't hurt that R&W has an attached wine bar with cool by the glass pours. Stop in on a Saturday or Sunday, grab a glass and peruse.
As California and New York are the major markets for these wines in the US, and are largely brought to the US by NYC or California based importers, there won't be exclusive bottles, but there very well can and will be things that actually make it to the shelf in this market as opposed to just getting passed along to friends in those markets. I am surprised often by some incredible bottles that just sit on the shelves here.
Given the number of wines available, specific recs would be tough depending on availability. Producers I love include:
Chateau de Beru (Chablis)
Frederic Cossard / Domaine de Chassorney (Burgundy)
Vouette et Sorbee (Champagne)
Stein (German Riesling)
Peter Lauer (German Riesling)
Envinate / Benje (Spain / Canary Islands)
Jean-Louis Dutraive (Beaujolais)
The list goes on and on, but those are some examples of producers making really clean, dialed in natural wines. Shoot me a PM if you have any other questions about producers/regions you've been curious about and I'd be happy to help.
- Colin