For decades now, the Loire Valley has been a hotbed of unconventional wine practices, with a history of winemakers turning away from the heavily prescribed use of pesticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilizers in favor of organic and biodynamic treatments, compost, cover crops, biodiversity in the vineyards, and healthy living soils. Today we'll  focus on some of our favorite producers in the Loir-et-Cher, which is a deparment of France that surrounds Blois and covers most of the area from the Loire River to one of its tributaries - the Cher. All of the producers listed above are household names at Chambers Street Wines, and in the homes of our longtime customers. Their wines cemented the reputation of the region for low intervention and natural wine-making and were the center of what we could call the "second wave" of natural wine, following it's traced origins in the Beaujolais with Lapierre, Chauvet, and others. 

The new arrivals today cover a wide range of styles, and a wide range of grape varieties, showcasing the diversity of the Loir-et-Cher, which can offer light reds from Gamay, Pinot Noir and Pineau D'Aunis, to more medium-to-full bodied expressions from Côt (Malbec) or Cabernet Franc, along with crisp whites from Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, to denser and more textured expressions of Menu Pineau and Romarantin. Long overdue for a restock, we're happy to put these tasty wines back on the shelf, and share them with our readers and customers from afar too!