While standing with Pierre Breton last year in the modest alcove that housed his personal wine collection, I was struck by the unique and intensely intimate nature of the wines quietly resting there. Not many big-name trophies or decades-deep verticals devoted to a single producer showed. Instead, the mix was quite eclectic. Thinking back on that moment, I imagine a parallel between Pierre’s cellar and how the Breton family domaine has itself evolved—from selling grapes to the local co-op, to bottling their own wine, to expanding their vineyards, to converting to organic and biodynamic viticulture, to welcoming the next generation into the business, all while becoming icons of the natural wine movement along the way. Over the course of a lifetime, focus shifts and priorities change, and your wine collection, or the business you’ve built, reflects that journey.
     Despite being internationally adored icons of the natural wine scene, the Bretons—Catherine, Pierre, son Paul, daughter France, and her husband, Baptiste—are down-to-earth bons vivants who don’t seem to take themselves too seriously. What they do take seriously, though, is their grape growing and winemaking, a necessity when working naturally, without the safety net of conventional methods. For the Bretons, a natural wine is made from pure grapes fermented with native yeasts without chemical additives, and the absolute minimum use of sulfur. Those are the methods, but the goal is more important: the wine must be an expression of its terroir and, yes, its maker. This requires constant vigilance, from the moment the vines flower in the spring, through vinification and élevage, all the way to bottling—a process that lasts months or years, depending on the cuveé. There are risks every step of the way. As the natural wine pioneer Jules Chauvet said, “To succeed in winemaking, as in life, one must live dangerously.” Early on in his career, Pierre learned from Marcel Lapierre, himself a student of Chauvet, and now Pierre and Catherine are sharing their knowledge with Paul, France, and Baptiste. The tradition that they are a part of—hard-won knowledge built on decades of experimentation and trial-and-error—is all the safety net they need.
     This collection of wines embodies many of the characteristics that we love about la famille Breton. The wines are expressive and vivid. They enliven any occasion. They are authentic. Yes, they are natural wines, but more importantly, they remind us of where they’re from and the people who made them. Above all, they bring joy.