At Salon St Jean in Angers you can meet and taste the wines of legendary natural winemakers – and party with them afterwards.
Some of the most famous fairs for natural wine are La Dive Bouteille and Salon St Jean.
In 2022 the two fairs were held at the same weekend in March, and since both are in the Loire region of France, it was a perfect opportunity to visit both – so Taste Rebels did.
In this article we focus on Salon St. Jean. You can read more about La Dive Bouteille in our article here.
From Renaissance to Salon St Jean
Salon St Jean was formerly known as La Renaissance des Appellations and is still often just mentioned as Renaissance when people talk about it.
Together with La Dive, it is one of the biggest and most iconic fairs of organic, biodynamic and natural wine with many French winemakers as well as presenters from all Europe.
The location of Salon St Jean is a beautiful former ward of Saint-Jean hospital in Angers. It’s a stunning building from the 12th century with beautiful columns and a wonderful light.
Meet the women of natural wine
At Salon St Jean you can meet some of the biggest legends of natural wine, and the amount of female winemakers present here is striking.
Compared to conventional winemakers which is dominated by men, the natural wine world has a noticeable number of women – and they make amazing wines!
The atmosphere is relaxed and joyful even though the place is packed. Most winemakers are eager to talk and willing to share their ups and downs in their wine making.
Despite the grand and slight ceremonial atmosphere provided by the buildings, the atmosphere is raw and unpolished. You can almost feel that the winemakers have just left their vineyard and still have dirt on their boots.
Taste hundreds of amazing wines
More than 250 winemakers are present with their wines at Salon St Jean. Most are French (more than 200) but also Spain, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Greece, Italy, and Slovenia are present.
It’s possible to taste some of the most legendary natural wines but also new and experimental wines from just started winemakers. And both are worth a visit! The diversity is huge, so it’s just to open your senses and let you guide by the energy to have the tastings of your life.
Not enough at the fair? Join the afterparties around the city of Angers together with all the other winemakers.
Wine is like a disco ball with all the different colors and lights – forever changing from opening to end.
Coralie Delécheneau, Domaine La Grange Tiphaine
