We work pretty much exclusively with small-scale artisans here at Flatiron. With the exception of a few Champagnes and some brand name spirits, none of the products we sell are made at an industrial scale.... Read More

We work pretty much exclusively with small-scale artisans here at Flatiron. With the exception of a few Champagnes and some brand name spirits, none of the products we sell are made at an industrial scale.

This involves a bit of a trade-off. We focus on wines that are highly individual, with a strong sense of terroir or tradition or experimentation or some combination of the bunch. And we avoid many wines that are generic, bland, manipulated to fool inexperienced palates, or simply bad. But it also means that we avoid many of the really cheap wines that you can find in grocery stores in Europe, and sometimes here in the U.S.—wines made in large enough volumes that economies of scale can really get the price down.

So we have to work that much harder to find inexpensive wines. But we do have some wines that are shockingly inexpensive. Wines that are priced as if they were industrial—but that aren't.

We are in Languedoc, in the wild South of France, where Jonathan Nossiter found Aimé Guibert, founder of the legendary Mas de Daumas Gassac. Guibert worked organically and naturally in a vineyard that has come to be considered one of the Grands Crus of France, thanks to his work. He proved that natural winemaking in the Languedoc could make vins de garde, and today his top wines are collectibles.

In the last few years, the Guibert family has started working with local families who contribute their grapes to a cooperative. Everything has remained artisanal. The families all work organically, and the Guibert clan ensure high-quality, non-manipulative vinification. The wines are simpler than Mas de Daumas' grands vins, but they're honest and delicious. And they are great values.