Burgundy's Collective Conscience
Santini Collective is the micro-négoce of Chris Santini, a French-American winemaker with Corsican and Tunisian roots, based in Auxey-Duresses in the south of Burgundy. Born in Pennsylvania and raised between the US and France, Chris spent every summer in France as a child before working his first harvest in Provence at age 20. He fell in love with wine, studied oenology at the University of Beaune under professors like Jean-Yves Bizot and Sylvain Pataille, and spent years working across Burgundy for both large and small estates. In 2006, he became export manager for legendary American importer Kermit Lynch at their Beaune office — a position he still holds part-time today, travelling and tasting across France. His first commercial vintage was in 2013, vinifying in Christophe Pacalet's cellar. In 2016, he acquired a 100-year-old cuverie in Auxey-Duresses that had never seen commercial enzymes or yeasts — and transformed it into "The Auxey Collective," an incubator for young natural winemakers. Jon Purcell (Vin Noé), Christian Knott and Morgane Seuillot (Domaine Dandelion), Bastien Wolber, and Arnaud Lopez all got their start in this space, sharing equipment, expertise, and creative energy. Chris sources organic grapes from offbeat terroirs across Burgundy, Beaujolais, and Provence — Champlitte (Haute-Saône), Lantignié (Beaujolais), Uchizy (Mâconnais), Monbatois (Hautes-Côtes de Beaune), and beyond. His signature technique is "flottaison" — inspired by Daniel Sage — where a portion of grapes are directly pressed, and the remaining whole bunches are added to the must for gentle infusion without aggressive extraction of colour or tannin. He has abandoned barrels entirely, ageing all wines in steel tanks only. No pumps, zero fining or filtration, and only a minimal dose of sulfur at bottling (1–2 g/HL, or none at all in some cuvées). The wines are "vins de soif" — thirst-quenching, lively, fruity, easy to digest, made to be drunk with enthusiasm. The project nearly collapsed in 2020–2021 due to financial pressure and an adversarial accountant, but with a new accountant, a new vertical press, and renewed focus, Chris relaunched in 2022 with a mostly private cellar and a tighter, more manageable operation. Today, Santini Collective is one of the most important names in Burgundy natural wine — not just for the wines, but for the community it built.
From Pennsylvania to the Auxey Collective
Chris Santini was born in Pennsylvania to a French-American family with roots in Corsica, Tunisia, and the USA. He spent every summer in France as a child, absorbing the language, the culture, and the rhythms of Mediterranean life. At 20, he worked his first harvest in Provence and fell irretrievably in love with wine. He enrolled at the University of Beaune, studying oenology under legendary professors Jean-Yves Bizot and Sylvain Pataille, alongside classmates who would become the next generation of Burgundy natural winemakers: Etienne Thiébaud, Catherine Riss, and Amaury Beaufort [^137^][^143^].
After graduating, Chris worked across Burgundy at both large and small estates before landing a dream job in 2006: export manager for Kermit Lynch, the legendary American wine importer, at their Beaune office. He still works there part-time today, travelling France, tasting thousands of wines, and building relationships with growers. But the itch to make wine himself never left. In 2013, he released his first commercial vintage — a négoce operation buying finished wines from the likes of Guy Breton and Christophe Pacalet, bottled in old-school liter bottles [^137^][^138^].
The turning point came in 2016, when Chris acquired a 100-year-old cuverie in Auxey-Duresses — a space that had never seen commercial enzymes or yeasts. Rather than keep it to himself, he invited friends to share it. Jon Purcell (Vin Noé), Christian Knott and Morgane Seuillot (Domaine Dandelion), Bastien Wolber, and Arnaud Lopez all vinified their first wines here. The "Auxey Collective" became a critical incubator for Burgundy's natural wine underground, providing equipment, camaraderie, and a launchpad for careers that would reshape the region's wine scene [^137^][^136^].
"Burgundy has always evolved and will continue to do so. Not everyone, of course, but many, especially the younger generation of winemakers who travel, frequent cool wine bars around the world and become exposed to the wines that are getting everyone excited."
— Chris Santini
Offbeat Terroirs, Honest Growers
Chris does not own vineyards. He sources organic grapes from offbeat, often overlooked terroirs across Burgundy, Beaujolais, and beyond — prioritising the quality of vineyard work over prestigious appellation status. His key sources include Champlitte in Haute-Saône (Pinot Noir and Gamay from north of Dijon), Lantignié in Beaujolais (Gamay from the highest, steepest vines in the appellation), Uchizy in the Mâconnais (Chardonnay), Monbatois in the Hautes-Côtes de Beaune (Pinot Noir), and the Couchois for additional Pinot [^137^][^138^].
Chris's relationship with growers is based on trust and shared values. He partners with honest, environmentally conscious farmers who work organically — no specifications imposed, no interference in the vineyard. "The goal is to make unpretentious and juicy wines," as one importer noted, "and he always prioritizes the quality of the vineyard work over buying grapes from a prestigious appellation." This philosophy has led him to some of Burgundy's most exciting hidden corners: the Haute-Saône, the Hautes-Côtes, the steep hills of Lantignié [^138^][^135^].
The Auxey Collective cellar itself is a 100-year-old space with concrete and stainless steel tanks, wooden basket presses, and a history free of commercial yeasts or enzymes. It is not just a winery; it is a community hub where young winemakers share equipment, exchange ideas, and support each other's projects. Chris's generosity in opening this space has been repaid many times over — the Collective has produced some of the most exciting new names in Burgundy natural wine [^137^][^143^].
North of Dijon, in a region rarely associated with fine wine, Chris sources Pinot Noir and Gamay for his signature "Champlitte" cuvée. The blend captures the wild, northern energy of Burgundy's hinterland — light, fruity, and deeply drinkable. It is a wine that proves terroir matters more than appellation, and that honest farming can produce joy anywhere.
The highest, steepest vines in Beaujolais, where working the land is physically demanding and the reward is fruit of extraordinary concentration. Chris's Beaujolais-Villages from Lantignié — often made in collaboration with Jon Purcell — is a pure, vibrant Gamay that captures the appellation's granite freshness and floral perfume. Whole-cluster, semi-carbonic, bottled unfined and unfiltered.
Chardonnay from the Mâconnais village of Uchizy, on the border of the Côte Chalonnaise. Chris's Bourgogne Blanc from this site is foot-stomped, pressed in a wooden basket press, and aged in old barrels or fiberglass. The result is a white of surprising depth and minerality — proof that Mâcon can produce wines of genuine character when farmed organically and vinified with care.
The 100-year-old cuverie in Auxey-Duresses has been home to Jon Purcell (Vin Noé), Christian Knott and Morgane Seuillot (Domaine Dandelion), Bastien Wolber, and Arnaud Lopez. Each vinified their first wines here, sharing equipment, expertise, and the creative energy of a community. Chris's generosity in opening this space has been instrumental in building Burgundy's natural wine underground — a legacy as important as the wines themselves.
Flottaison, Steel Only, Zero Finesse
Chris's signature technique is "flottaison" — inspired by Daniel Sage — where a portion of grapes are directly pressed, and the remaining whole bunches are added to the must for gentle infusion. The whole clusters float in the juice, extracting colour, flavour, and tannin without the aggression of pump-overs, punch-downs, or extended maceration. The result is wines that are light in body but deep in flavour — aromatic, fruity, and incredibly drinkable [^138^][^137^].
In recent years, Chris has abandoned barrels entirely, ageing all wines in stainless steel tanks only. No pumps are used — everything moves by gravity or gentle racking. No fining, no filtration. Sulfur is minimal — 1–2 g/HL (10–20 mg/L) added only at bottling in some cuvées, with others receiving none at all. The reds are vinified with whole clusters, the whites with direct press or foot-stomping. Indigenous yeasts only. The goal is always the same: terroir-driven, light but aromatic, fruit-driven wines that quench thirst and spark joy [^138^][^135^].
The 2019 vintage marked a turning point: Chris began experimenting with the flottaison method in earnest, moving away from the carbonic maceration that had defined his earlier reds. The results are wines of greater clarity and precision — still easy-drinking, still "vins de soif," but with more defined terroir expression and less generic fruitiness. The 2022 relaunch, with a new vertical press and a mostly private cellar, promises even more focused, more individual wines [^137^].
The Saga of Santini
By 2019, Santini Collective was thriving — wines sold well, the Auxey Collective was buzzing with activity, and Chris's reputation was growing. But behind the scenes, the project was faltering financially. An adversarial accountant from hell, combined with the inherent costs of small-scale winemaking in Burgundy, pushed Chris to the brink. In 2020, he made almost no wine. In 2021, he produced just 2,000 bottles of a Vin de France blend, debating whether to shut down entirely. "I planned to sell off half my stock in January 2021, and then shut the company down in February 2021," he recalled. But he couldn't pull the trigger. The emptying cellar, the quiet space, the reconnection with what had drawn him to Auxey in the first place — it all brought him back. With a new accountant, a new vertical press, and the critical support of his Australian importer, Chris relaunched in 2022. He would make less wine, charge more for it, keep the Collective small and manageable, and focus on the flottaison technique he had been developing. The saga of Santini is not just a business story; it is a parable about the difficulty of making natural wine in the world's most expensive wine region, and the stubbornness required to keep going when everything suggests stopping. Chris Santini kept going. And Burgundy's natural wine scene is richer for it.
Vins de Soif, Community & Resilience
Santini Collective has become one of the most important names in Burgundy natural wine — not because of grand crus or high prices, but because of community, accessibility, and an unwavering commitment to joy. Chris's wines are exported to the US, Australia, Japan, Denmark, Germany, and across Europe, with importers like Kermit Lynch, Different Drop, MYSA Natural Wine, and Lieu-Dit championing his cause. They appear at restaurants like Septime in Paris and cool wine bars from Tokyo to Melbourne [^136^][^145^].
But the true legacy of Santini Collective may be the Auxey Collective — the incubator that launched Jon Purcell, Domaine Dandelion, Bastien Wolber, and Arnaud Lopez. These winemakers, now established in their own right, all got their start in Chris's cellar. The equipment sharing, the idea exchange, the positive energy — this is not how Burgundy usually operates, with its secrecy, its competition, its obsession with terroir hierarchy. Chris built something different: a space for collaboration in a region that rewards isolation [^137^][^136^].
What Chris offers is a complete philosophy: wine should be fun, farming should be honest, and community should come before competition. His "vins de soif" — thirst-quenching, lively, fruity, easy to digest — are the same types of wines his Corsican and French ancestors enjoyed for generations. They are not wines for cellars or auctions; they are wines for tables, for conversations, for the pure pleasure of drinking something alive and unmanipulated. In a region increasingly dominated by speculation and prestige, Santini Collective is a reminder that wine, at its best, is simply joy in a bottle [^143^][^135^].
"No negative feedback whatsoever. Even conventional growers that come by seem to enjoy the wines, and clients, importers, seem to want to proceed in this direction, too."
— Chris Santini, on Burgundy's reception to natural wine
The Santini Collective Range
All wines are made from organic grapes, hand-harvested and carefully sorted. Indigenous yeast fermentation, flottaison technique for reds, direct press or foot-stomping for whites. Aged in stainless steel only — no barrels. Unfined, unfiltered. Minimal sulfur (1–2 g/HL or 10–20 mg/L) added only at bottling in some cuvées; others are zero-zero. The range varies vintage by vintage, reflecting Chris's sourcing and experimental spirit [^138^][^135^].