JeremyK: looks like there isn’t a way to directly message you off the thread.
If you are looking to sell some of your collection, I’d love to buy an assorted case to start mine. How can we get in touch ?
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I’m near Somerville and Cambridge. I haunt Pembertons Market on Mass Ave and Ball Sq wines which both carry it. There are many other sellers as well in greater Boston although you would need to search around to find them. It’s really a hit and miss in this area, most beer retailers just don’t carry it but you can run into them here and there
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Some American visitor bragged about removing a chunk of wood from a beam, taking the “wild yeast” home. The (European) beer community was furious.
I have visited Cantillon several times, before and after the renovation. The beers were even cheaper before.
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Cantillon actually almost went out of business a while ago because there was almost zero demand for their beers… until it randomly kind of turned around and people discovered its magical taste and aromas and started to embrace it and they’ve been doing well ever since. There’s still many issues like the secondary market where some of their bottles regularly go for hundreds of dollars a pop and none of it is trickling back to them. It’s pretty cool that it’s a family business (3 generations). I cannot wait to visit one day…
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IMO once you’ve been to Belgium and have drunk real lambics, you’ll never like most domestic sour beers (I have a black hole in my heart for kettle-soured beers).
I do like the Allagash coolship beers as well those from New Belgium (which are allowed to sour in large foeders which contain souring microbes - same process which Rodenbach uses for their red ales; Rodenbach Alexander is one of my favorite beers in the entire world).
I was also a big fan of Cascade Brewing Company which made excellent fruited sour beers. Unfortunately they closed down in 2024 - a tragic loss!
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If you hurry, Wegmans in Medford has a limited supply of Lindemans Cuvee de l’Amitie - an excellent blended gueuze. 750 ml bottle @ ~$20. There were about a dozen bottles left yesterday. I assume that other local Wegmans are carrying it as well??
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I used to regularly buy Cantillon and other Belgian beers there! RIP to that version of the store. I don’t know when it was acquired by its current owners but it’s less than a shadow of its former state… (And I can’t remember his name, but the beer buyer back then – guy with a huge beard IIRC – was so knowledgeable and super friendly.)
Regarding domestic sours, I’ve had some good ones from some local breweries, especially Trillium. I don’t think it’s quite fair to compare them to the Belgian stuff; it’s a totally different vibe. Like comparing Napa with Bordeaux.
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Enjoying this thread! We used to go to the Art of Beer Belgian beer festivals back in the early 2000’s as we both have enjoyed these styles for quite some time. I’ve recently gravitated to some natural wines which are almost in the sour beer realm versus what palates expect with a more mainstream wine. I first tasted this producer’s La Grinozza with the illustrious @digga at Dear Annie, and have since purchased a case. I would encourage anyone looking to branch out from the sour beers to give it a try. 
100% Grignolino. Hand harvested into small bins. Spontaneous fermentation. Primary fermentation in stainless steel. Re-fermented in bottle. No added sulfur and no filtering or fining.
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Oooh a zero/zero wine. Nice! I’ve definitely gone down the natural wine rabbit hole myself but it can be a very expensive hobby these days
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Oooh I’m so intrigued - I love a sour beer and am totally ignorant about natural wines.
Did you buy this locally? (I can’t recall whether Dear Annie sells bottles to go…)
Natural wine is available across a few stores but few stores dedicated themselves to it heavily since it’s so niche and they can be kind of expensive.
A few retailers depending on where you’re located that have some are:
- Momma’s Grocery + Wine (Cambridge, MA)
- Wild Child (Somerville, MA)
- Satellite Bottle Shop (Dedham, MA)
- The Wine Bottega (Boston, MA)
- Craft & Cru (Milton, MA)
There’s also plenty of dedicated online retailers
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I am also pretty uninformed about natural wines, but I know what I like and I liked this one enough to go search for it. Ball Square Fine Wines didn’t carry it but ordered me a case, at a little under $20 per bottle. I’m about halfway through my case, and would really like to try one of this producer’s other varieties so am contemplating putting in another order, but ideally would find someone to split it with… anyone local to Somerville/Cambridge who might be interested? The producer has a bunch of very intriguing varieties listed HERE.
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I could bite in March or April if you want and I’m out in Needham but can drive a little
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Nice list. I’ll add that both Forage (Cambridge) and Few & Far (Dedham) are associated with Satellite Bottle Shop (all owned by the very knowledgeable Stan Hilbert), and are good places to sample natural wines by the glass. They both also have wine clubs. As the Forage site says “Our Wine Club (powered by Satellite Bottle Shop) is the best way to explore rare, natural, and small-production wines hand-picked by our team.”
Momma’s has tastings as does the associated, quirky Zusammen. Here, too, the owner (Danielle) knows a lot and is always willing to guide.
The granddaddy of natural wines in the GBA was Richard Kzirian who (as far as I know) was their first big pusher all the way back in the 1990s. Sadly, his retail store (Violette Wine) is now closed, but they continue to import and distribute natural wines.
Oh, Formaggio Kitchen’s Huron Ave location carries some natural wines as well, including ones from Violette Imports.
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Yeah I miss Violette Wine. Quirky, tiny, but mighty in terms of selection and knowledge 
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I’d be in for 3-6 bottles (depending on how many you’d like to keep for yourself) - great idea! I’d like to try the Grinozza that you recommended and the Barrusco. Let me know if that works and we can connect. (I’m in Cambridge near the Huron Formaggio)
Don’t know far back you ago, but nobody is as old as I am. Violette once occupied the whole “Sofra space”. Richard then sold/leased the bulk of the space to Anna Sortun, and moved into that tiny strip of space next to Sofra.
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