La Dive: A Disneyland of Natural Wine?

30 Jan

This was my first trip to La Dive. I’ve been meaning to go for years, but for one reason or another, I never made it—until now.

I’m not sure if it was the weather, as the whole Loire was veiled in thick fog for days, giving it a Transylvanian vibe. The organization is flawless, the wines are flawless—outstanding, in fact—the location is spectacular, but something felt off. The vibe was a bit weird. Perhaps it’s just too large, perhaps there were too many winemakers, or perhaps by Monday, people had already had enough of the Loire and the weather after attending the myriad of other events happening that weekend. It felt as if they had to be there. It did feel like a theme park... a veritable Disneyland of natural wine. A long way there , then having to pick what rides you want to go on , then queue.

That said, if you want to taste the best natural wines in one place, and if you can only attend one or two of these events a year, this would be the one to go to.

The Evolution of La Dive

One of the first—if not the first—natural wine salons, La Dive is certainly the most famous today. Originally founded by Catherine and Pierre Breton in 1999, it was later taken over by Sylvie Augereau, who has since guided it through multiple venue changes—from Deauville to the Château de Brézé—before settling at its current home in the Caves Ackermann in Saumur.

At thirty, Augereau experienced a turning point, questioning what she truly loved and what she was skilled at. The answer was wine and writing. She packed her computer and a few clothes into her car and set off on the road.

A Global Attraction

Nowadays, the fair attracts masses of natural wine tourists, importers, and aficionados from all over the globe—loads of Americans and Japanese. It’s the crème de la crème of fairs, and it’s difficult for winemakers to secure a stand. It’s one of the largest weekends in the natural wine world, with La Dive at the center of it all, surrounded by satellite natural wine events taking place across this part of France, including Angers and the surrounding areas.

The Challenge of Getting There

Let’s be honest—unless you're living in Nantes or Paris, getting to Saumur is a fucking nightmare. You’ll need a lot of logistical planning, especially if you're only going for a few days by public transport, which is always recommended (no doubt you’ll be half-pissed). It’s like threading the eye of a needle—special forces-level logistics are required.

The same goes for the fair itself; with the sheer cornucopia of talent, you’ll need to plan a little in advance for what you want to taste—unless you fancy stripping the enamel from your teeth.

There was quite a stir last year when Sylvie Augereau sent a letter to participants, urging them to leave the "shit wine" at home and bring only the good stuff—wines without excessive VA or mousiness. She made it clear that she’d rather see a touch of sulfites in a well-made, drinkable wine than a flawed one made without sulfites for the sake of ideology. And she had a point—throughout the event, I didn’t come across a single undrinkable wine.

That said, the best wines, in my opinion, were the unsulphured ones. Personally, I prefer them, but I understand those who don’t and who favor wines with less VA. There’s a clear divide at the moment, as more and more natural winemakers choose to add sulfites. But as wine writers, it’s not our place to dictate what vignerons should do—it’s their risk, not ours.

Until there are clear and unified regulations, standards, and labeling for natural wine—both sulfured and unsulfured—winemakers will continue to do as they see fit, within reason. And given the strong stances some have taken, I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

Back of the Van

A super cosy pop up..

Ilona o Faya Farm and Koppitsch

Grugg og Makk

georg lingenfelder

Georg Lingenfelder

Dominik Held , Dolgesheim

Katla wines

Flooded Loire at Angers

2 natural kinder — Weinschwärmer from 2NaturalKinder
Really nice , Strawberry and Elderflower Bon Bon sweetie. but smooth..top- super fragrant and fun.

A pop-up event organized by Jas Swan of Katla Wines— It reminded me of an old-school illegal rave I used to attend in my youth, but this time it was all organized with Instagram updates and Google Maps instead of telephone boxes and checkpoints. The details were shared via a Google Maps pin about three hours before the event, which took place in a car park on the banks of the Loire. I met an American that compared the event to doing a crack deal in Philly , trying to score glass , “ 5 bucks for a glass ".

Around twelve winemakers were present, mostly from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, along with a Swede, an Icelandic beer company, a Belgian beer, and, of course, Jas.

Hits

O Faya Farm from Valais in Switzerland ,Illona drove all the way just to showcase her fantastic wines here , she was not showing her wines anywhere else that weekend , a fantastically hard working girl , Ô Fâya Farm is a family-run vineyard and farm in Conthey , Valais, Switzerland, managed by Ilona Thétaz. The farm takes a holistic approach to agriculture, blending vineyards, apricot orchards, and livestock, including sheep, chickens, horses, donkeys

Standout wine - crystalline Chasselas fondant AKA chasselas , Fruity and mineral with a lovely cirus finish.

Soley from Katla Wines ,and orange wine made from Kerner , Striking Taste , Strawberry and elderflower

Gruggog Makk , Love this concept , hoe to capture Micro-systems in a beer.

Collecting Wild Microflora from all over Iceland, Grugg & Makk is an Icelandic wild beer brewery founded in 2022 by two designers. They specialize in crafting wild ales using yeast cultures collected from various Icelandic regions, capturing the country's natural biodiversity.

https://www.gruggogmakk.com

Janos from Dok Brewing in Ghent , Belguim Driving down from Belgium with a couple of Kegs , One beer infused with wild cherries , nice..

Hits of the Day

Cote de Brouilly , A top Gamay from Guy Breton. from Mount Brouilly, a dormant volcano. Cherry and earthy.

Terre d’Obus - Alexander Bain

Another gem, this Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire is exceptional. Made using biodynamic practices with the help of a horse, the grapes are manually harvested and undergo spontaneous fermentation in barrels with native yeasts. Aged for 24 months in oak barrels, this wine is a true standout with remarkable depth and character.

*Elise Bougy - 21* , One of the Hits of the Day .Pinot Noir/Pinot Meunier , zero dosage , No Sulphur and unfiltered.

Simon , making own wines , sharing the cellar with 2 Natural Kinder.

Hit - It’s like a jungle sometimes , Sauvgingn Blanc 23 ,suave blanc , can always be a hit or miss , not in fashion at the moment but when you get a nice one , super , herby , nettles , and fresh ferns , green pepper corns ,its outstanding in which this is , if you like a wild San Blanc , this is the one for you, direct press , aged in oak , 500 litres

Fosse Grely - Ruppert Leroy - A peaty champagne the notes of an Islay Whiskey. Fosse-Grely is a sélection massale planting of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay at the bottom of the hill in Essoyes

**Shit hot..**
**La Tournelle** - Fleur de Savagnin , 100% Savagnin is all about freshness and minerality. Grown on gray marl soils, it’s got bright citrus, and a subtle, salty finish , Whole-cluster pressing—clean, crisp, and seriously delicious."

***Must Get .. Umani -*** *Milan Nestarec* , slight botrytis Traminer. an Outstanding wine , 4 days skin maceration , Stockinger oak barrel, 3000 litres.

Getting to La Dive

Western Europe - Fly to Nantes via Easyjet , Ryanair or Air France.

Within France - Via Paris - TGV - trainline.com

US - Usual Airlines - AA , Airfrance , KLM

Champagne

Elise Bougy
Hugues et Lucile Godmé
Charlotte et Jérôme Bourgeois – Diaz
Hélène et Bertrand Gautherot, Vouette Sorbée
Thomas de Marne
Mathilde et Vincent Laval
Bénédicte et Emmanuel Leroy, Ruppert-Leroy

Alsace

Vincent Gross
Pierre Weber
Louis Maurer
Catherine Riss
Emmanuelle et Mathieu Deiss, le Rêveur
Lucas Rieffel
Jean-Pierre Rietsch
Christian Binner
Michèle Ramponi, Mëralla
Rémi Ségura, Vins Pirouettes
Morgane et Jérôme François, Oncle Charles
Hubert et Heidi Hausherr
Julien Albertus, Kumpf et Meyer

Jura – Savoie

Anne et Jean-François Ganevat
Maylis Ganevat, Zéroine
André-Jean et Héléana Morin, la Touraize
Evelyne Clairet, la Tournelle
Tony Bornard
Florien K Snuverink et J-B Menigoz, Bottes Rouges
Julien Mareschal, la Borde (Jura)
Jean-Yves Peron (Savoie)
Marie et Florian Curtet (Savoie)
Adrien Berlioz (Savoie)
Axel Domont (Savoie)
Emma et Michaël, Les Mangeux d’Pierre (Bugey)
Lisanne et Edouard, les Sonnettes (Bugey)

Bourgogne

Valentin Montanet, Sœur Cadette (Vézelay)
Monica et Philippe Pacalet
Réno Pacalet
Yann Durieux, Recrue des Sens (Htes Côtes)
Fanny Sabre
Sylvain Pataille (Marsannay)
Paul Perarnau et Willy Roulendes, Ami
Antoine Lienhardt (Côtes de Nuit)
Jean-Marie Berrux et Jean-Pascal Sarnin
Pierre-Henri Rougeot (Meursault)
Maxime Crotet
Fiona Leroy
Jennifer et Pierre Clair, Clair-obscur
Isabelle et J-Y Vantey, Rouges Queues
Cécile et Philippe Valette (Pouilly-Fuissé)
Claire et Fabio Montrasi, les Rontets (P-Fuissé)

Beaujolais

Elisa Guérin
Max Breton
Yann Bertrand
Paul-Henri Thillardon
Anthony Thevenet
Giorgio et Anne Lapierre
Mathilde et Sylvère Trichard, Séléné
Alexandre Iwasuila, Cambon
Geneviève, Jeanne et J-C Chanudet, Chamonard
Christophe Pacalet
Georges Descombes
Kéké Descombes
Karim et Quentin Vionnet
Raphaël et Cristelle Champier, Leonis
Clarisse et Jean-Claude Lapalu

Loire – Home

Frédéric Monnier, les Pierres Meslières (Ctx d’Ancenis)
Antoine et Philippe Delaunay (Muscadet)
Jérôme Bretaudeau, Bellevue (Muscadet)
Marc Pesnot, la Sénéchalière (Muscadet)
Marc Houtin et Gérald Peau, Grange aux Belles
Julien Delrieu et Thibaut Ducleux (Anjou)
Philippe Delmée (Anjou)
Geneviève et Nicolas Bertin-Delatte (Anjou)
Clément Baraut (Anjou-Savennières)
Alex et Eric Dubois, La Franchaie (Anjou)
Thomas Guillon, Trivel (Anjou)
Sylvain Martinez (Anjou)
Olivier Humeau (Anjou)
Simon Chatain et Nicolas Reau (Savennières)
Nicolas Reau (Anjou)
Antoine Sanzay (S-Champigny)
Clos Maurice (S-Champigny)
Riri Desouche, Petit Domaine (S-Champigny)
Dominique Joseph, Petit Saint-Vincent (S-Champigny)
Bruno Dubois (S-Champigny)
Thierry et Louis Germain, Roches Neuves (S-Champi)
Flo et Jeanne Germain, La Foulée (S-Champigny)
Christine Kieu et Jérôme Becuwe, la Chance
Thibault Stephan (Saumur – Le Puy)
P Foucault et S Dittière, Porte Saint-Jean (Saumur)
Sylvanie Bouchet (Saumur)
Clément Maire et Sophie Kurdziel, les Justices
Fred Sigonneau, de l’R (Chinon)
Bernard Pelé, les Bernard (Chinon)
Geoffrey de Noüel (Chinon)
Lise et Bertrand Jousset (Montlouis)
Sébastien Brunet (Vouvray)
Catherine et Pierre Breton (Bourgueil-Vouvray)
Anne et Grégory Leclerc, Chahut et Prodiges
Noella Morantin (Touraine)
Laurent Saillard (Touraine)
Julien Pineau (Touraine)
Brendan et Sean Tracey (Touraine)
Reynald Héaulé (Orléannais)
Alexis Hudon
Caroline et Alexandre Bain (Pouilly)
Noella et J-P Robinot, l’Ange Vin (Jasnières)
Renaud Guettier, La Grapperie (Ctx du Loir)
Jean Maupertuis (Côtes d’Auvergne)
Henri Chauvet (Auvergne)

Bordeaux et Sud-Ouest

Christophe Pueyo, La Fleur Garde Rose (St-Emilion)
David Favard et Laurence Chrétien, Meylet (St-Em)
Franck Pascal, Jonc Blanc (Bergerac)
Camille et Mathias Marquet, Lestignac (Bergerac)
Florent Girou et Thien, Combrillac (Bergerac)
Béné et Grég Hubau, Moulin Pey-Labrie (Fronsac)
Henri Duporge, le Geai (Bordeaux)
Antonin Jamois, l’Ile Rouge (Entre deux Mers)
Damien, Marius Bielle (Lalande de Pomerol)
Sandrine et Elian Da Ros (Marmandais)
Jean-René Hégoburu, Souch (Jurançon)
Antoine Arraou, Lafitte (Jurançon)
Valérie Courreges, Clos Terre Kermes (Quercy-Cahors)
Sophie et Julien Ilbert, Combel-la-Serre (Cahors)
Bixente Indart, Goienetxea (Irouleguy)
Florent Plageoles (Gaillac)
Marc et Thibaut Penavayre, Plaisance (Fronton)
Dominique Andiran, Haut Campagnau (Gers)
Nicolas Carmarans (Aveyron)

Provence – Corse

Antoine-Marie Arena (Corse)
Jean-Baptiste Dutheil, Sainte-Anne (Bandol)
Clara, Hugo et Peter Fischer, Revelette (Provence)
Jean-Christophe Comor, Terres Promises (P)
Myrko Tepus (Ctx du Verdon)
Franck Pasquier, l’Abri (Bouches-du-Rhône)

Rhône

Simon Gastrein, Toucheboeuf (Saint-Jo Condrieu)
Jean-Michel, Romain et Dorian Stéphan (Côte Rôtie)
François Dumas (Saint-Jo Condrieu)
Laure et Dimitri, Lorient (Cornas, St-Peray, St Jo)
Jeff Malsert, l’Iserand (St-Jo)
Hugo Vercasson (St-Jo)
Eric Texier, Pergaud (Brézème – St Julien en St Alban)
Valérie et Thibaud Chaume-Arnaud (Vinsobres)
Maxime Laurent, Gramenon
Olivier Trombetta, le Cri de l’Araignée
Romain Le Bars (Tavel-Lirac)
Claire, Thomas et Marcel Richaud (Cairanne)
Sophie et Thomas Jullien, ferme St Martin
Laurence et Antoine Joly, Roche Buissière
Philippe Viret
Marie-Laurence et Elisabeth Saladin (Ardéche)
Gérald Oustric, le Mazel (Ardèche)
Andrea Calek (Ardèche)
Laura Aillaud (Lubéron)
Alexandre Dalet (Lubéron)

Languedoc

Joé Chandellier (Cevennes)
Camille Moulin et Pierre, Mouressipe (Gard)
Blandine Floch, le Chat Huant (Gard)
Jeff Coutelou
Thierry Navarre (Saint-Chinian)
Yannick Pelletier (Saint-Chinian)
Charlotte et Jean-Baptiste Sénat (Minervois)
Xavier Ledogar (Corbières)
Edouard Fortin, les Quatres Pierres (Cabardès)
Olivier Cohen, les Vignes d’Olivier
Geneviève et Gilles Azam, les Hautes Terres (Limoux)
Maxime Magnon (Corbières)
Yohann Moreno (Corbières)
Rodolphe et Laetitia Ourliac, Fond Cyprès (Corbières)
Delphine et Frédéric Agneray, Grange du Nord (Gard)
Sébastien Chatillon, Advinum (Gard)
Yoan Tavares et Basile Passe, Vin des potes (partout)
Marc Castan, Mamaruta (Fitou)
Axel Prufer (en pensées, pas en raisin)

Roussillon

Benoit et Sébastien Danjou, Danjou-Banessy
François-Xavier Dauré, les Lampyres
Luc Devot, le Débit d’Ivresse
Loïc Roure, Domaine du Possible
Sylvain Respaut et Olivier Cros, la Cave apicole
Edouard Laffitte, le Bout du Monde
Jacques de Chancel, l’Ausseil
Jean-Louis Tribouley
Laurent Roger, Mataburro
Philippe Wies, La Petite Baigneuse (Maury)
Caroline et Stéphane Morin, Léonine
Kiko Pesci
Bruno Duchêne (Collioure)
Lionel Gauby, Eau de Souche
Manuel Di Vecchi, Vinyer de la Ruca (Banyuls)
Tutti Fruti Ananas
Jordi Perez (Banyuls)
Charles Ripoche et Tess Davison, Les Davoche
Camila Opazo, Mas Guallar

Strangers

Servaas Blockeel, Lijsternest (Belgique)
Sophie Evans (Kent,UK)
Cedric Besson Strasser (Suisse allemande)
Michael Völker, 2Naturkinder (Franconie-All)
Alanna LaGamba et Martin Wörner (Rheinhessen -All)
Judith Beck (Burgenland, Autriche)
Eva et Karl Schnabel (Sud Autriche)
Herbert König (Styrie, Autriche)
Maria et Sepp Muster (Styrie, Autriche)
Ewald Tscheppe, Wertlitsch (Styrie, Autriche)
Georg Schmelzer (Burgenland, Autriche)
Christian Tschida (Burgenland, Autriche)
Claus Preisinger (Burgenland, Autriche)
Maria et Alexander Koppitsch (Burgenland, Autriche)
Okro’s wine et Lapati (Géorgie)
Iago‘s Wine (Géorgie)
Holass, The Wine Collective (Hongrie)
Maciek, Dom Bliskowice (Pologne)
Milan Nestarec (République tchèque)
Katarina Kuropkova, Slobodné (Slovaquie)
Vina Cotar (Slovénie)
Apostolos Thymioupoulos, Naoussa (Grèce)
Elisabetta, Emilio et Theo Foradori (Dolomites, Italie)
Silvio Messena, Montesecondo (Toscane, Italie)
Chiara Innocenti et Francesca Di Benedetto, Tunia (T)
Dario Nocci, La Ginestra (Toscane, Italie)
Giovanna et Stefano Tiezzi, Pacina (Chianti, Italie)
Stefano Pescarmona, Podere Magia, (Lambrusco, Italie)
Arianna Occhipinti, (Sicile, Italie)
Giusto Occhipinti, COS (Sicile, Italie)
Anna et Eric Narioo, Vino di Anna, (Etna, Italie)
Ginger et Romain, Giardini ColeRinger (Etna, Italie)
Suzana et Sasa Radikon (Frioul, Italie)
Dario Princic (Frioul, Italie)
Paolo Brunello, Vignale de Cecilia (Veneto, Italie)
Claudia et Alberto Carretti, Podere Pradarolo (Em-R)
Elena Pantaleoni, la Stoppa (Emilie-R, Italie)
Giulio Armani, Denavolo (Emilie-R, Italie)
Pierpaolo Messina, Marabino (Sicile, Italie)
Andrea Scovero (Piemont, Italie)
Fabio Gea (Piémont, Italie)
Francesco Carfagna, Altura (Giglio, Italie)
Miguel et Vasco, Aphros Wine (Portugal)
Tiago Sampaio, Folias de Baco (Portugal)
Salvador Batlle, Celler Cosmic (Espagne)
Ismael Gozalo, Microbiowines (Espagne)
Dido and Jurriaan, Vinyes Tortugas (Espagne)
Louis-Antoine Luyt (Chili)
Matt Taylor (US)