Wine That Creates Connections
Du Vin aux Liens is a natural wine trade and collective founded by Vanessa Letort in late 2019, born from her experience co-creating Les Vins Pirouettes with Christian Binner in Alsace. [^32^] [^49^] The project embraces two of France's most dynamic natural wine regions — Alsace and the Loire — partnering with passionate, organic and biodynamic winegrowers to vinify without a net, and offering Vanessa's own cuvées alongside those of her partner growers. [^36^] [^38^] Daughter and granddaughter of Breton peasants, Vanessa also produces ciders from her family orchard. [^49^] Since 2019 she has vinified her own wines, and today she is also a winegrower in her own right with Domaine de la Légèreté in Lorraine, in Lucey. [^36^]
From Tours to Pirouettes to a Web of Connections
Vanessa Letort is relatively young in the wine world — she plunged into it in 2014 while living in Tours and working as a "companion of regional projects" in the Rochepinard district. [^49^] What began as tasting workshops with Patrick de la Cav'par 3 de Tours quickly became an obsession. From there, she enrolled in a one-year training course at the Lycée Viticole in Amboise, more focused on marketing, where she met Philippe Chigard — a trainer, animal traction provider, and winemaker at La Table Rouge with his partner Claude Cabel-Airaud. [^49^] Philippe was an enthusiast who gave Vanessa the taste for entrepreneurship and introduced her to a network of Loire winegrowers who would later become her partners.
The decisive encounter came in June 2015, when Christian Binner welcomed Vanessa for a wwoofing stint at his estate in Ammerschwihr, Alsace. [^49^] Binner, already a towering figure in the natural wine world, suggested that Vanessa create and develop alongside him — with Pierre Sanchez and Xavier Couturier from Duo Œnologie — the now-legendary Les Vins Pirouettes label. [^32^] [^49^] For three years, Vanessa was at the heart of this adventure, learning on the job through encounters and experiences, training a new generation of Alsace natural winemakers under one umbrella. When the Pirouettes adventure ended for her in December 2019, she was ready to spin her own web. [^49^]
Du Vin aux Liens was born in late 2019 — a name that perfectly captures Vanessa's philosophy. "Liens" means "links" or "connections," and the project is exactly that: a space for partner winegrowers to come alive and vinify without a net; a bridge for natural wine lovers and professionals to discover a beautiful range of wines from the Loire, Alsace, and elsewhere; and a platform for Vanessa herself to vinify and offer her own wines and ciders. [^49^] It is more than a négociant — it is a wine collective, a community, and a creative partnership between growers who share a commitment to living wines. [^32^]
"Du Vin aux Liens is a space for partner winegrowers to come alive to vinify without a net; so that you, natural wine lovers or professionals, can enjoy a beautiful range of wines from the Loire, Alsace and elsewhere; and finally, so that I too can vinify and offer you my wines and my ciders."
— Vanessa Letort, Du Vin aux Liens
Organic & Biodynamic & Vin Méthode Nature
Du Vin aux Liens works exclusively with winegrowers who practice organic and biodynamic viticulture — passionate artisans whose quality and aesthetics Vanessa appreciates deeply. [^36^] She takes part in the vinification of most of the cuvées, adding her "grain of salt," and likes to see the relationship as a true partnership rather than a simple buyer-supplier transaction. [^36^] The project is a member of the Syndicat de Défense des Vins Naturels, and all wines meet the official "Vin Méthode Nature" definition: organic grapes, manual harvest, no inputs or technological intrusion, with sulfites limited to a maximum of 30 mg/l. [^38^] Although the label is not yet carried on the bottles, the commitment is absolute — "construction in progress." [^38^]
The partner winegrowers are a carefully curated network of small-scale, committed producers. In the Loire, Vanessa works with Tangyu Perrault and Anne-Cécile Jadaud (Domaine des Perrault-Jadaud); Benoît Savigny (Domaine des Fosses Rouges); Philippe Chigard and Claude Cabel-Airaud (Domaine de la Table Rouge) — micro-domaine "wine gardeners" with just 0.8 hectares over four tiny plots at Noizay near Vouvray, who work the soil with a horse, interplant fruit and almond trees, and grow lavender between rows; and Lou Chigard and Louis Lange (Domaine de la Pensée Filante). [^32^] [^49^] In Alsace, she partners with Domaine Albert Hertz (Albert and Frédéric Hertz in Eguisheim); Domaine Loberger at Bergholtz; and formerly with Yannick Meckert, an ex-Binner winemaking intern who now vinifies his own wines. [^32^]
Vanessa's own vinification journey began in 2019 thanks to her friend Claude Straub, who has his estate in Blienschwiller in Alsace. [^36^] She continues now at Farid Yahimi's estate, Sons of Wine in Beblenheim — though their winemaking and wines remain totally separate. [^32^] [^36^] Her own cuvées include Tribute to Frida, Lohduttava, Le Gamay du Matin, and Wait wait wait — wines that have gained recognition across Europe and beyond. [^36^] Today, Vanessa is also establishing her own domaine: Domaine de la Légèreté in Lorraine, in Lucey, where she is putting down roots as a winegrower in her own right. [^36^]
Member of the Syndicat de Défense des Vins Naturels. All wines meet the official definition: organic grapes, manual harvest, no inputs or technological intrusion, sulfites ≤30 mg/l. Label application in progress. [^38^]
Domaine Albert Hertz (Eguisheim), Domaine Loberger (Bergholtz), Yannick Meckert. Organic and biodynamic viticulture. Vanessa participates in vinification, adding her "grain of salt." [^32^] [^36^]
Domaine des Perrault-Jadaud, Domaine des Fosses Rouges, Domaine de la Table Rouge (Noizay, Vouvray — horse-worked, 0.8ha), Domaine de la Pensée Filante. Organic and biodynamic. [^32^] [^49^]
Vanessa's own estate in Lorraine, Lucey. She is now a winegrower in her own right, expanding from négociant-collective to vigneronne with her own vineyards. [^36^]
Pure Juice, No Inputs & Living Wines
The winemaking philosophy at Du Vin aux Liens is radical in its simplicity: pure juice, no inputs, living wines. [^38^] This is not a slogan — it is a technical reality. Grapes are harvested exclusively by hand from organic and biodynamic vineyards. In the cellar, there are no added enzymes, no commercial yeast strains, no tartaric acid adjustments, no fining agents, and no filtration. Fermentation is spontaneous, driven by indigenous yeasts that carry the microbial fingerprint of each vineyard. The only concession to stability is a minimal addition of sulfur dioxide at bottling, kept well below the 30 mg/l threshold mandated by the Vin Méthode Nature charter. [^38^]
Vanessa's involvement in the vinification process is hands-on and collaborative. She does not simply buy finished wine and slap her label on it — she works alongside her partner growers during fermentation, adding her "grain of salt" to each cuvée. [^36^] This might mean adjusting maceration times, experimenting with vessel types (amphora, steel, oak), or deciding on the precise moment to press. For her own cuvées, she carries out all the winemaking procedures herself, from harvest to bottling. [^36^] Her first vinifications in 2019 were at Claude Straub's estate in Blienschwiller; she now works from Farid Yahimi's cellar at Sons of Wine in Beblenheim, though their projects remain entirely separate. [^36^]
The range is intentionally diverse, reflecting the varied terroirs and grape varieties of Alsace and the Loire. In Alsace, this means Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, and Sylvaner — grapes that express the granite, limestone, and sandstone soils of the Vosges foothills. In the Loire, it means Chenin Blanc, Gamay, Pineau d'Aunis, and Cabernet Franc — varieties that speak of schist, clay-limestone, and gravel. The ciders, made from apples of the family orchard in Brittany, add another dimension — a nod to Vanessa's peasant roots and a reminder that natural wine is part of a broader culture of fermentation and terroir. [^49^] The result is a portfolio of more than twenty wines and ciders, each with its own character, but all united by a common thread: they are alive, they are honest, and they connect drinkers to the people and places that made them.
Terre — "Skin-Contact Riesling, Aged in Amphora"
Terre is one of Du Vin aux Liens's most distinctive cuvées — a skin-contact Riesling from Alsace, aged in amphora, that encapsulates Vanessa's experimental spirit and her commitment to living wines. [^32^]
Vinified by Yannick Meckert for the Du Vin aux Liens label, the grapes come from organic vineyards in Alsace and undergo extended skin contact — not the classic direct-press Alsatian style, but an orange-wine approach that extracts tannin, texture, and a deep amber hue from the Riesling skins. The amphora ageing adds a mineral, almost saline quality, rounding the wine without imparting oak flavour. Fermentation is spontaneous with indigenous yeasts, and the wine is bottled unfiltered with minimal sulfur. [^32^] [^38^]
In the glass, it is a luminous, deep gold — almost amber — with a slight natural haze. The nose is complex and evolving: quince, dried apricot, wild honey, and a distinct flintiness from the granite soils. The palate is structured and tactile, with the skin contact providing a gentle grip and the amphora contributing a smooth, almost waxy texture. This is not a wine for the faint-hearted; it is a wine for those who understand that Riesling has more to offer than simple floral aromatics. It is a wine of place, of process, and of personality — a perfect introduction to the Du Vin aux Liens philosophy. ~€22–€30 / ~$24–$32.
The Du Vin aux Liens Range
Du Vin aux Liens offers a diverse portfolio of more than twenty wines and ciders from Alsace, the Loire, and now Lorraine. The range includes Vanessa's own cuvées, wines made in partnership with her network of organic and biodynamic growers, and ciders from her family's Breton orchard. All wines are Vin Méthode Nature: organic grapes, manual harvest, no inputs, indigenous yeasts, minimal sulfur (≤30 mg/l). Prices are approximate and in EUR/USD.