Natural wine gem in Blannay

Each year, we make the trip to the north of the Burgundy region to visit three of our wonderful suppliers, La Cadette, the de Moors and La Petite Empreinte.

La Cadette is based in the village of Saint Pierre which is situated at the food of the mountain on which sits the village of Vezelay.

On our way there, once we have past the town of Avallon we kept a close watch out for the tiny village of Blannay where we wanted to pay a visit to a “wine shop” that we had seen a sign to many times as we have been driving past but never had time to visit. This time we did.

The sign to this establishment on the outskirts of Blannay is very rudimentary as you can see below.

We soon found the entrance to the venue.

The sign on the gate was very specific it says “sonnez fort a la cloche” which means “ring the bell loudly” – so we did!

The owner soon arrived and asked if we were familiar with natural wines, because that is all he sells. When we pointed out that natural wines were all that we drank he was very happy to show us downstairs.

His basement is quite large and there was a huge range of wines available.

2 Rue de la Tourelle, 89200 Blannay, France

When you arrive, either André or Marie (or both) will be there to greet you and to take you down the outside steps to the basement.

They will then explain how the basement is arranged and ask whether you have a particular type or region of wine that you are interested in and then guide you to the place to start looking.

We also like their brief but interesting Web site which addresses the French concept of terroir with the two paragraphs displayed below.

The following two paragraphs are from their Web site but translated into English:

Organic, biodynamic, and natural wine is all about terroir. Each grape tells the story of its soil, its climate, its origin. At Naturellement Vin, we offer wines that express the unique character of each terroir, with rich aromas and flavours, far removed from conventional standards.

We work with passionate artisan winemakers who cultivate their vines with respect, patience, and love. Just a few kilometers apart, two terroirs can reveal entirely different characters. It is this diversity and authenticity that we wish to share with you in our cellar, near Vézelay and Avallon.

We also recommend that if you are interested in visiting this venue that you also have a look at the page on their Web site that explains their background in wine and regions they recommend.

We especially enjoyed reading about the “conversion” they underwent and also the idea of the importance of terroir is raised again:

In 2002, I settled in Burgundy, in the heart of one of the greatest wine-growing regions. I studied at the University of Dijon, where I learned to better understand soils and their role in the unique character of wines. This period reinforced my conviction: an organic or natural wine is not just a beverage, it’s a story, a connection between the land and humankind.

If you want to translate the French on their Web site then call up Google Translate and copy the French text from their Web site into the translation page and choose English as the language to translate to.

You can find the origin of the quote above on their Web site which you can find by clicking on the link here.

You can also find where we have mentioned this venue in our post on our 2025 trip to France here.