The World's 100 Best Natural Wine Producers

Natural wine is not an appellation, a certification or a technique. It is an approach — farming without synthetic inputs, fermenting with the grape's own wild yeasts and adding nothing in the cellar. The movement has no official rules and no central body handing out scores. What it has is the producers themselves, and the collectors, sommeliers and restaurateurs who have followed them for decades.

This list is our curation of the hundred producers who shaped the modern history of natural wine. We prioritised three things: influence on the movement, consistency over time and genuine expression of terroir. Pierre Overnoy and Marcel Lapierre are here because they effectively invented modern natural wine. Joško Gravner because he reinvented white wine. Frank Cornelissen because he showed how far minimal intervention can be pushed.

What is not here: conventional prestige estates regardless of quality, and producers whose wines we could not verify. The list makes no claim to objectivity — there is no objective ranking in wine. It claims only to be honest.

Geographically France dominates, led by the Jura, Loire, Beaujolais and Rhône, but Italy, Georgia and Austria are strongly represented. Ten of the producers on the list work in Languedoc and Roussillon — the region we import from ourselves, and one that has gone from mass production to becoming one of natural wine's most dynamic areas.

Top 10

Pierre Overnoy / Emmanuel Houillon

Arbois-Pupillin, Jura · France · Savagnin, Chardonnay, Poulsard

If natural wine has a starting point, this is it. Pierre Overnoy stopped adding sulphur back in the 1980s, inspired by the chemist Jules Chauvet's research into fermentation without additives. His Savagnin — vinified ouillé, meaning topped up rather than aged under a veil of yeast as Jura tradition dictates — proved that wines without sulphur could age for decades rather than months. Since 2001 the domaine has been run by Emmanuel Houillon, whom Overnoy took on as an apprentice and later named his successor.

Thierry Allemand

Cornas, Rhône · France · Syrah

Allemand began as a labourer for Robert Michel and built his own domaine by replanting abandoned terraces in Cornas when the appellation was at its lowest. His two cuvées — Chaillot and Reynard — are today counted among the finest expressions of Syrah in the world. The winemaking is minimal, with very low sulphur and great precision rather than dogma.

Joško Gravner

Friuli Collio / Oslavje · Italy · Ribolla Gialla, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay

Gravner was a technically accomplished modernist until a 1997 trip to Georgia gave him an entirely new idea of what white wine could be. From 2001 he has vinified in qvevri — Georgian clay vessels buried in the ground — with long skin contact and no temperature control. His Ribolla Gialla is the single most important bottle in the history of modern orange wine.

Jean-François Ganevat

Côtes du Jura · France · Chardonnay, Savagnin, Poulsard, Trousseau

Ganevat spent ten years in Burgundy before returning to the family domaine in Rotalier and making wines unlike anyone else in the Jura. His range is extreme — dozens of cuvées per vintage, many from individual parcels with vines planted by his grandfather. Low sulphur, slow élevage and a precision that has made him one of natural wine's most sought-after producers.

Jacques Selosse

Avize, Champagne · France · Chardonnay, Pinot Noir

Anselme Selosse brought Burgundian thinking to Champagne and changed the region from within. Instead of blending away terroir, he worked with individual villages, low yields, barrel fermentation and oxidative élevage — a radical break from the houses' standardised style. Selosse is the single biggest reason grower champagne exists as a category today.

Pheasant's Tears

Kakheti, Georgien · Georgia · Rkatsiteli, Mtsvane, Saperavi

Founded by the American artist John Wurdeman and vigneron Gela Patalishvili in the heart of Kakheti. The project is as much about cultural preservation as wine — they have revived Georgian grape varieties that were on the verge of disappearing entirely. The wines are made in qvevri using a method that is eight thousand years old.

Domaine des Miroirs / Kenjiro Kagami

Côtes du Jura · France · Chardonnay, Savagnin, Trousseau

Kenjiro Kagami came from Japan, worked with Ganevat and then established himself on his own parcels in the Jura. Production is tiny and the cuvées carry poetic names that reflect an aesthetic as much as a wine. The wines are extremely precise, mineral and virtually impossible to buy at list price.

Radikon

Friuli Collio / Oslavje · Italy · Ribolla Gialla, Friulano, Merlot

Stanko Radikon returned in 1995 to his grandfather's method: long skin contact on Ribolla Gialla, no temperature control, no added sulphur. Together with Gravner he defined modern orange wine. Radikon also developed his own 500 ml and one-litre bottle formats, built on the idea that wine should be shared. His son Sasa has run the domaine since Stanko's death in 2016.

Clos Rougeard (Foucault)

Saumur-Champigny, Loire · France · Cabernet Franc, Chenin Blanc

Brothers Charly and Nady Foucault ran Clos Rougeard at a time when Cabernet Franc from the Loire was considered simple wine. They worked without chemicals, fermented spontaneously, aged in old barrels and made wines that showed Saumur-Champigny could stand alongside Bordeaux and Burgundy. Le Bourg and Les Poyeux are reference wines for the grape.

Jean Foillard

Morgon, Beaujolais · France · Gamay

Foillard is one of four Beaujolais producers — with Lapierre, Thévenet and Breton — who turned their backs on the region's industrial nouveau production in the 1980s. All four were influenced by Jules Chauvet and began farming organically, harvesting late and fermenting without added yeast or sulphur. The group is still known as the Gang of Four.

11–30

Ramaz Nikoladze

Imereti, Georgien · Georgia · Tsitska, Tsolikouri, Krakhuna

One of the central figures in the rebirth of Georgian natural wine. He works with Tsitska and Tsolikouri in qvevri and has been decisive in connecting the Georgian tradition with the European natural wine movement.

Marcel Lapierre

Morgon, Beaujolais · France · Gamay

The most influential of the Gang of Four. Lapierre took Jules Chauvet's ideas and put them into practice, and his Morgon became the template for what a natural Beaujolais could be. His son Mathieu has run the domaine since 2010.

Frank Cornelissen

Etna Nord, Sicilien · Italy · Nerello Mascalese

The Belgian who moved to the northern slope of Etna and pushes minimal intervention further than almost anyone. Magma, his top cuvée of Nerello Mascalese from old vines high on the volcano, is one of natural wine's most debated wines.

Cédric Bouchard / Roses de Jeanne

Aube, Champagne · France · Pinot Noir, Chardonnay

Bouchard's philosophy is uncompromising: one parcel, one variety, one vintage — never blends. Production is minimal and the wines have a purity and lightness that stands in sharp contrast to Champagne's house style.

Nicolas Joly

Savennières, Loire · France · Chenin Blanc

Joly is the wine world's most vocal ambassador for biodynamics and the driving force behind Return to Terroir. Coulée de Serrant is one of few French appellations consisting of a single vineyard, and his Chenin Blanc from there divides opinion but leaves no one indifferent.

Yvon Métras

Fleurie, Beaujolais · France · Gamay

A cult producer working with whole clusters, spontaneous fermentation and near-zero sulphur. Métras' wines are among the hardest to find in all of Beaujolais and have a transparency and energy few come close to.

Philippe Bornard

Arbois-Pupillin, Jura · France · Poulsard, Trousseau, Chardonnay

Neighbour and close friend of Pierre Overnoy, with the same uncompromising stance on sulphur. Bornard's Poulsard — pale, perfumed and electric — is among the Jura's most characterful red wines.

Bénédicte & Stéphane Tissot

Montigny-lès-Arsures, Arbois, Jura · France · Trousseau, Chardonnay, Poulsard

Biodynamic farming across an unusually broad range, from traditional vin jaune under flor to modern ouillé wines and sparkling. Tissot is the producer who best shows the full breadth of the Jura.

Renaud Bruyère & Adeline Houillon

Arbois-Pupillin, Jura · France · Ploussard, Chardonnay, Savagnin, Trousseau

Adeline Houillon is Emmanuel Houillon's sister, and the domaine stands in direct line from the Overnoy tradition. Small volumes, no added sulphur and a precision that has made them one of the Jura's most sought-after young producers.

La Stoppa / Elena Pantaleoni

Rivergaro, Colli Piacentini, Emilia-Romagna · Italy · Malvasia di Candia Aromatica, Barbera, Bonarda, Ortrugo

Pantaleoni made La Stoppa one of Italy's most important natural wine addresses. Ageno — Malvasia with long skin contact — is one of the orange wines that defined the category outside Friuli.

Jérôme Prévost / La Closerie

Gueux, Montagne de Reims, Champagne · France · Pinot Meunier, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay

Prévost got his start with help from Anselme Selosse and makes champagne from almost entirely Pinot Meunier grown in a single parcel in Gueux. The wines are textured, oxidative and entirely personal.

Château Rayas

Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Rhône · France · Grenache

Rayas stands outside the natural wine movement's rhetoric but has always worked accordingly: pure Grenache on sandy soil, no new oak, minimal intervention. The wines have an ethereal lightness no one else in the appellation comes near.

Valentini

Loreto Aprutino, Abruzzo · Italy · Trebbiano d'Abruzzo, Montepulciano

An extremely traditional, extremely private family domaine that declassifies most of its production and bottles only what it stands behind. Trebbiano d'Abruzzo from Valentini is one of Italy's most legendary white wines.

Dard & Ribo

Saint-Joseph / Crozes-Hermitage, Rhône · France · Syrah, Marsanne, Roussanne

René-Jean Dard and François Ribo were natural wine pioneers in the northern Rhône long before there was a movement to belong to. Their Syrah is light, perfumed and juicy — the opposite of the region's extracted style.

Jean-Pierre Robinot

Chahaignes, Jasnières / Coteaux du Loir, Loire · France · Chenin Blanc, Pineau d'Aunis

Robinot ran one of Paris's first natural wine bars before becoming a vigneron in the Loire. His Chenin Blanc and Pineau d'Aunis are made uncompromisingly without sulphur and have a wildness that mirrors the man behind them.

Hervé Souhaut / Romaneaux-Destezet

Ardèche · France · Syrah, Viognier

Souhaut makes Syrah from granite soils in the Ardèche using whole clusters and minimal intervention. The wines are light, peppery and transparent — one of the clearest examples of how Syrah can taste without extraction.

Marie-Noëlle Ledru

Ambonnay, Champagne · France · Pinot Noir

Ledru worked alone in Ambonnay for decades, making grower champagne from Pinot Noir with very low dosage. The wines are taut, mineral and among the purest interpretations of the grand cru village.

Domaine Huet

Vouvray, Loire · France · Chenin Blanc

Biodynamic since 1990 and a reference point for Chenin Blanc in every style — dry, off-dry, sweet and sparkling. Le Mont, Le Haut-Lieu and Clos du Bourg show how three parcels in the same appellation can give entirely different wines.

Guy Breton

Villié-Morgon, Beaujolais · France · Gamay

The fourth of the Gang of Four, known as P'tit Max. Breton's Morgon is among the most immediately charming natural wines from Beaujolais — juicy, light and made to be drunk.

Paolo Bea

Montefalco, Umbria · Italy · Sagrantino, Montepulciano, Grechetto

Bea makes Sagrantino with long maceration, no filtration and several years of élevage before release. The wines are structured and long-lived, and have made Montefalco a natural wine destination.

31–100

Rank	Name	Region	Country	Grapes
31	Jean Macle	Château-Chalon, Jura	France	Savagnin
32	Mark Angeli / Ferme de la Sansonnière	Anjou / Saumur, Loire	France	Chenin Blanc, Cabernet Franc
33	Laherte Frères	Chavot, Champagne	France	Meunier, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir
34	Jean-Claude Lapalu	Saint-Etienne-la-Varenne, Beaujolais	France	Gamay
35	Movia	Brda, Slovenien	Slovenia	Rebula, Pinot Noir, Merlot
36	Jacques Lassaigne / Emmanuel Lassaigne	Montgueux, Aube, Champagne	France	Chardonnay
37	Michel Gahier	Montigny-les-Arsures, Jura	France	Trousseau, Melon à Queue Rouge
38	Axel Prüfer / Le Temps des Cerises	Le Bousquet-d'Orb, Haut-Languedoc, Hérault	France	Grenache, Cinsault, Carignan, Aramon, Chardonnay
39	Emmanuel Brochet	Villers-Aux-Noeuds, Montagne de Reims, Champagne	France	Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay
40	Pierre Frick	Pfaffenheim, Alsace	France	Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer
41	Gabrio Bini / Serragghia	Pantelleria, Sicilien	Italy	Zibibbo (Muscat of Alexandria), Nero d'Avola
42	L'Octavin / Alice Bouvot	Arbois, Jura	France	Poulsard, Chardonnay, Savagnin
43	Franz Strohmeier	Weststeiermark, Österrike	Austria	Blauer Wildbacher (Schilcher)
44	Patrick Bouju / La Bohème	Saint-Georges-sur-Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Auvergne	France	Pinot Noir, Gamay, Chardonnay
45	Domaine Gauby / Gérard & Lionel Gauby	Calce, Roussillon	France	Grenache, Carignan, Grenache Blanc, Macabeu, Muscat
46	Rudolf Fürst	Bürgstadt, Franken	Germany	Spätburgunder, Riesling, Weißburgunder
47	Gérard Gauby	Calce, Roussillon	France	Grenache, Carignan, Macabeu
48	Gut Oggau	Oggau, Burgenland	Austria	Welschriesling, Blaufränkisch, Zweigelt, Traminer
49	Domaine Matassa / Tom Lubbe	Calce, Roussillon	France	Grenache Gris, Carignan, Muscat
50	Envinate	Galicien, Kanarieöarna & Bierzo, Spanien	Spain	Mencía, Palomino, Listán Negro, Albariño
51	Dario Prinčič	Oslavia, Friuli Collio	Italy	Friulano (Jakot), Ribolla Gialla, Merlot
52	Clemens Busch	Pünderich, Mosel	Germany	Riesling
53	Domaine Gérard Schueller & Fils / Bruno Schueller	Husseren-les-Châteaux, Alsace	France	Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer
54	Prieuré Roch	Nuits-Saint-Georges, Bourgogne	France	Pinot Noir
55	Anders Frederik Steen & Anne Bruun Blauert	Valvignères, Ardèche	France	Grenache, Carignan, Syrah, Mourvèdre
56	Werlitsch / Ewald Tscheppe	Südsteiermark, Österrike	Austria	Sauvignon Blanc, Morillon (Chardonnay)
57	Domaine Belluard	Ayse, Savoie	France	Gringet, Altesse, Mondeuse
58	Jean-Yves Péron	Conflans, Savoie	France	Altesse, Jacquère, Mondeuse, Persan
59	Domaine Bizot / Jean-Yves Bizot	Vosne-Romanée, Bourgogne	France	Pinot Noir, Chardonnay
60	L'Anglore / Éric Pfifferling	Tavel, Rhône	France	Grenache, Carignan, Cinsault, Clairette
61	Le Mazel / Gérald & Jocelyne Oustric	Valvignères, Ardèche	France	Syrah, Grenache, Carignan, Viognier, Cinsault
62	Maxime Magnon	Villeneuve-les-Corbières, Corbières	France	Carignan, Grenache, Terret Blanc
63	Domaine des Ardoisières / Brice Omont	Coteaux de Cévins, Savoie	France	Jacquère, Roussanne, Altesse, Persan, Mondeuse Noire, Mondeuse Blanche
64	Les Foulards Rouges / Jean-François Nicq	Roussillon	France	Grenache, Mourvèdre, Carignan
65	Partida Creus / Massimo & Antonella	Bonastre, Baix Penedès	Spain	Sumoll, Xarel·lo, Macabeu
66	Sébastien Riffault	Sury-en-Vaux, Sancerre	France	Sauvignon Blanc
67	Benoît Courault	Faye d'Anjou, Anjou, Loire	France	Chenin Blanc, Cabernet Franc, Grolleau, Pineau d'Aunis
68	Château Cambon / Marie Lapierre & Jean-Claude Chanudet	Saint-Jean-d'Ardières, Beaujolais	France	Gamay
69	Pierre-Olivier Bonhomme	Les Montils, Touraine, Loire	France	Menu Pineau, Chenin Blanc, Gamay, Pineau d'Aunis, Sauvignon Blanc
70	Alexandre Bain	Tracy-sur-Loire, Pouilly-Fumé	France	Sauvignon Blanc
71	Didier Barral / Domaine Léon Barral	Lenthéric, Faugères	France	Mourvèdre, Carignan, Terret
72	Clos du Rouge Gorge / Cyril Fhal	Latour-de-France, Roussillon	France	Carignan, Grenache, Macabeu
73	Cantina Giardino / Antonio & Daniela De Gruttola	Ariano Irpino, Campania	Italy	Fiano, Greco, Aglianico, Coda di Volpe
74	Clos des Grillons / Nicolas Renaud	Rochefort-du-Gard, Rhône	France	Grenache, Cinsault, Carignan, Bourboulenc, Clairette
75	João Pato aka Duckman / Maria Pato	Bairrada, Portugal	Portugal	Baga, Bical, Cercial, Fernão Pires
76	Rémy Pédreno / Roc d'Anglade	Nîmes, Gard, Languedoc	France	Grenache, Carignan, Mourvèdre, Terret
77	Arnot-Roberts	North Coast, Kalifornien	USA	Trousseau Gris, Syrah, Chardonnay
78	Milan Nestarec	Velké Bílovice, Moravia	Czech Republic	Grüner Veltliner, Blaufränkisch, Welschriesling
79	Domaine Gramenon / Michèle Aubéry-Laurent	Montbrison-sur-Lez, Côtes du Rhône	France	Grenache, Viognier, Clairette
80	Ochota Barrels	McLaren Vale / Basket Range, Australien	Australia	Shiraz, Grenache, Gamay
81	Bartolo Mascarello / Maria Teresa Mascarello	Barolo, Piemonte	Italy	Nebbiolo, Dolcetto, Barbera, Freisa
82	Emidio Pepe	Torano Nuovo, Abruzzo	Italy	Montepulciano, Trebbiano d'Abruzzo
83	Jeff Coutelou / Mas Coutelou	Puimisson, Hérault, Languedoc	France	Carignan, Grenache, Cinsault, Terret
84	Andrea Calek	Alba-la-Romaine, Ardèche	France	Syrah, Grenache, Carignan, Viognier, Chardonnay
85	Antony Tortul / La Sorga	Languedoc / Roussillon	France	Cinsault, Grenache, Carignan
86	Éric Texier	Brézème, Côtes du Rhône	France	Syrah, Viognier, Grenache
87	Descendientes de J. Palacios	Corullón, Bierzo	Spain	Mencía
88	Laureano Serres / Mendall	Terra Alta, Katalonien	Spain	Garnatxa, Carignan, Macabeu, Garnatxa Blanca
89	Aphros / Vasco Croft	Lima, Vinho Verde	Portugal	Loureiro, Vinhão
90	Domaine des Cavarodes / Étienne Thiébaud	Cramans, Côtes du Jura	France	Trousseau, Chardonnay, Savagnin, Poulsard, Enfariné Noir
91	Arianna Occhipinti	Vittoria, Sicilien	Italy	Frappato, Nero d'Avola
92	Christian Tschida	Illmitz, Burgenland	Austria	Welschriesling, Pinot Blanc, Traminer
93	Le Coste / Antonuzi & Bouveron	Gradoli, Lago di Bolsena, Lazio	Italy	Aleatico, Grechetto, Procanico, Roscetto
94	Elisabetta Foradori	Mezzolombardo, Trentino	Italy	Teroldego, Nosiola
95	Les Bottes Rouges / Jean-Baptiste Menigoz	Arbois & Abergement-le-Petit, Jura	France	Chardonnay, Savagnin, Poulsard, Trousseau, Pinot Noir
96	Jacques Puffeney	Montigny-les-Arsures, Jura	France	Trousseau, Poulsard, Chardonnay, Savagnin
97	Stéphane Ogier	Ampuis, Côte-Rôtie	France	Syrah, Viognier
98	Domaine de la Tournelle / Evelyne Clairet	Arbois, Jura	France	Poulsard, Trousseau, Chardonnay
99	La Grange de l'Oncle Charles / Jérôme François	Ostheim, Alsace	France	Co-plantation: Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer, Auxerrois, Pinot Noir, Muscat
100	François Pinon	Vernou-sur-Brenne, Vouvray	France	Chenin Blanc

Languedoc and Roussillon among the world's best

Ten of the producers on this list work in Languedoc and Roussillon. It is the same landscape — the same schist hills in Faugères, the same altitude sites in the Haute Vallée de l'Orb — that the wines we import ourselves come from.

Two connections are especially direct. Axel Prüfer in Le Bousquet-d'Orb (#38) is a neighbour of both Hors Saison and Le Bouc à Trois Pattes, and helped Olga Ivanova and Antoine Monod get started when they founded Hors Saison in 2021. Didier Barral in Faugères (#71) taught Yannick Pelletier, whose domaine sits on the border between Saint-Chinian and Faugères.

#38 Axel Prüfer / Le Temps des Cerises — Le Bousquet-d'Orb, Haut-Languedoc, Hérault
#45 Domaine Gauby / Gérard & Lionel Gauby — Calce, Roussillon
#47 Gérard Gauby — Calce, Roussillon
#49 Domaine Matassa / Tom Lubbe — Calce, Roussillon
#64 Les Foulards Rouges / Jean-François Nicq — Roussillon
#71 Didier Barral / Domaine Léon Barral — Lenthéric, Faugères
#72 Clos du Rouge Gorge / Cyril Fhal — Latour-de-France, Roussillon
#74 Clos des Grillons / Nicolas Renaud — Rochefort-du-Gard, Rhône
#76 Rémy Pédreno / Roc d'Anglade — Nîmes, Gard, Languedoc
#83 Jeff Coutelou / Mas Coutelou — Puimisson, Hérault, Languedoc
#85 Antony Tortul / La Sorga — Languedoc / Roussillon