Where To Drink Natural Wine in Greenpoint | Le Fanfare

Natural Wines have been getting a lot of attention recently, which has made me worried. How unnatural is the other wine that I’m drinking? Is there really anything more natural than uncorking, pouring, sniffing, breathing, toasting, sipping, smiling, and sipping again? Of course not. 

However, there is a very particular distinction about “natural” wines, and one that their winemakers and purveyors care deeply about. Natural, in the vaguest sense, means wines that are made the way they used to be, way way back before we had a keen understanding of chemistry and a need to mass produce and instead relied heavily on the nature of the land, the phases of the moon, the changes in climate, a more than a little bit of magic to produce. It means wineries that often look more like laboratories, it means processes that are part winemaking part witchcraft. The result is funky, unpredictable, hazy and unfiltered; wines that have a soul and a story to tell; wines that make you slow down and feel the magic that is still aging and transforming within the bottle, instead of being dulled by the addition of sulfites. It’s alive, and makes you feel the same. 

And my favorite new spot in Brooklyn for natural wines? Le Fanfare, in Greenpoint. 

Their new natural-forward wine program concentrates on the hazy, the unfiltered, the raw and memorable wines from Spain, France, and Italy, and it’s the best way to sip on a little magic in Brooklyn. 

These wines are so untouched, the wine collective’s purveyor still uses hotmail, a charming addition I noticed on the back of the bottles. 

I recently visited with my in-house wine tasting aficionado Zachary Eichenhorn who will help you clear up the haze and feel the bewitchment of these untouchable spirits. He’ll take it from here.

With so many wines to choose from in today’s restaurants and bars it is often difficult to make a decision on your own. However Le Fanfare gives you an easy way to narrow the field by providing a menu of natural wines to choose from. These particular wines are produced without the addition or subtraction of any elements during the winemaking process. As such each offering provides a uniquely delightful experience to complement your time at this Greenpoint staple. If you can get in on a Friday or Saturday, raise a glass to the live musicians who regale you with their tunes.

The Clar Blanco

Like a muted trumpet that still has a solo to perform, the Xarel-lo grape in this blend just yearns for stage time as the supplemental Chardonnay and Gewürztraminer provide backup. From the land that brings us so much cava, the winemaker desired to get back to Penedes’s flat wine roots, creating a hazy white that is far from lackluster. Impressively funky and drinkable, this wine is a great warm up to dinner. 

Villa Paz

This deep white feels like a Celtic, rainy day in the mystical land where it hails from, Galicia. Each sip feels steep and elevated, cleansing and hopeful. Because Le Fanfare doesn’t have percebes on the menu, reach for this wine to complement the octopus or mussels.

Plein Les Ceps

If you are partial to red wines as an accompaniment, say, to a delicious burrata appetizer, then the ‘Plein Les Ceps’ is your new, rude best friend. Literally translated, it’s “full of mushroom,” this wild, tangy, 100% Grenache dances upon and finds the deepest nooks of your palate.

Vino del Poggio

If you want to stay on the funky train, choose a bottle of this Italian Red with a charming little elephant on the front. The winemaker has always been inspired by the story of intrepid exploration where Carthinigan general Hannibal brought his entire army and 40 elephants over the Alps in an effort to take over Rome directly. He himself embodies this same renegade approach to wine exploration. A 100% Barbera wine, it’s effervescent and pungent yet painfully elegant. Not for the weak at heart, the dull of senses, or those easily intimidated by seemingly impossible mountain passes.

Cot

For our headlining act, we chose to indulge in a bottle of the Cot, a Malbec from the Loire Valley in France. Originally arriving and coming to fame in Argentina, the varietal from its home country is drier than expected with silky soft tannins. It’s light and elegant despite it’s deep, seductive ruby color. This wine pairs perfectly with Le Fanfare’s expertly cooked and cut hanger steak, cooked medium rare.

To cap the evening with a neat digestif we chose to imbibe the Amaro Montenegro, which was neither a natural nor unnatural choice. It just felt right before leaving and dancing into the night.