Following Part 1 in Paris — now, onto Jura!
We got to Jura super late, but thank god Les Valseuses still let us sneak into their open cellar’s afterparty (though it’s finished).
It was a cozy gathering of neighboring winemakers from Alsace, Germany… There were three, maybe four languages flying around — French, English, Germany, and Vietnamese haha. Nobody fully understood each other, but somehow we all got the point. Worst case? Just ask the legendary winemaker next to you to translate — worked for us, haha.
A bit of info about Les Valseuses: founded by Antoine Le Court and Julia Naar. They’ve quickly become known as one of the region’s most innovative young producers. Their wines have a distinct character – they pick early, use long macerations, and often blend reds and whites. The result? Focused, mineral-driven, and extremely fresh wines. (We bought some bottles from them, stay tuned till we open them and share our thoughts!).
Then came Vitis Batardus Liberata 2025, a hybrid wine fair now in its second edition. There’s a rising wave of winemakers working with hybrid grapes – not just in Jura, but in many iconic regions. More and more of them believe hybrids deserve serious attention. Many natural winemakers want to avoid spraying in the vineyards as much as possible, and these hybrids make that doable. They’re tough, need fewer chemicals, and handle climate chaos better. Not traditional – but maybe the future.
After that: two full days of natural wine fair madness. Le Nez dans le Vert, founded in 2010, is a group of likeminded organic and biodynamic winemakers and farmers from Jura. They hold monthly meetups and organize wine fairs. When they first formed, it was all about connection – a space for winemakers to share and learn with peers working in the same spirit.
Fast forward to Le Nez dans le Vert 2025, we met legends. Every booth had a line, and every winemaker had big fans. But no one was in a rush. Everyone was patient, kind, nerdy in the best way. Just a bunch of humans who really care about authentic wine. Also, zero uncivilized moments spotted. We’ll share what we tasted in the next part – keep your eyes on us!
After long days of drinking, we were looking for something casual and local for a comfort dinner – and we somehow ended up at Barzing’s communal-style table. They had an exceptional natural wine list, all from local winemakers, lined up on the wall so we could pick directly from there.
One unexpected thing: the place was fully booked, packed with wine lovers and industry people all over Europe. Some had decades in the game. Others were young, wild, and hungry. We all shared the same passion, gathered here for the love of good wine (and yes, some still had wine fair stamps on their hands, haha). We chatted a lot – got insights from developed markets and talked about new ones like Vietnam.
Oh, and we taught them how to say “cheers” in Vietnamese. Solid reps for the homeland, right haha?
Okay, that’s already quite a bit to digest, so we’ll leave this part here for now.
See you in our next updates, cheers!
P.S. For dessert, here’s a mix of random snaps – just for the vibes!
