Hey guys!
New York just wrapped up Karakterre Week, which basically felt like natural wine’s version of Fashion Week; panels, parties, and pét-nats everywhere. Between that, a few writers we can’t stop reading, and a Radikon spotlight, there’s a lot of stuff to cover this week. Let’s dive into it!
A Karakterre Week in New York 🍷
Karakterre Week turns New York into the center of the natural wine world, for one memorable weekend
This past weekend was one of the best times of the year, Karakterre Week in New York. It’s become a kind of unofficial holiday for anyone who loves natural wine: a full week of tastings, panels, pop-ups, and late night hangouts leading up to the main event, the Karakterre fair itself. And this year didn’t disappoint.
Pictured: Karakterre Flyer
Thursday: The Panel at Four Horsemen 🐴
Things kicked off Thursday at the iconic Four Horsemen in Williamsburg, where a powerhouse panel came together: LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy, Christian Nedergaard, the owner and sommelier of the legendary Ved Stranden 10 in Copenhagen, and a lineup of top winemakers including Elias Muster from Styria, Markus Altenburger from Burgenland, and Kreso Petrekovic of Vinas Mora, among others.
Pictured: Christian Nedergaard and James Murphy
The setup was intimate, more like a roundtable conversation than a formal panel. They talked about where natural wine was when Four Horsemen and Ved Stranden 10 first opened over a decade ago, back when “natural wine” was still a niche curiosity, and how the restaurant world has evolved since. There was a lot of talk about the growing acceptance (and excitement) around Central and Eastern European wines, and how these regions are shaping the next era of restaurant wine programs.
Pictured: Four Horsemen and Ved Straden 10 Glasses
The conversation flowed easily, funny and thoughtful in equal measure, and naturally ended the way any great wine discussion should: with a dance party next door at the Four Horsemen’s nightclub, Nightmoves.
Pictured: Tschida and Muster at Nightmoves
Friday: Dinner at Kafana 🇷🇸
Friday night was another highlight, a dinner at Kafana, one of New York’s most traditional and authentic Serbian restaurants. The space feels like it was teleported straight out of Belgrade: exposed brick, old photos on the walls, and live Balkan folk music.
Pictured: Kafana Dinner
That night, they hosted a celebration of Movia and Kabaj, two of Slovenia’s most iconic wineries. The room was packed: winemakers, importers, old friends, and new ones. My glass was never empty, the table was never without food, and somehow, every time you thought the night might be winding down, another bottle of wine appeared.
Pictured: Kafana (Left + Front), Movia (Back), and Kabaj (Right)
The wildest part of the night came when the Movia team started opening their non-disgorged pét-nats, bottles still capped with their natural yeast sediment inside, right at the table, submerged in buckets of water like a controlled detonation. (Disgorging is the process of removing that sediment after secondary fermentation in sparkling wines; without it, the built-up pressure can send wine and lees flying. The water bucket keeps things, and everyone nearby, from getting soaked.) I wish I could share a video, it was really a sight to see.
Pictured: Disgorgment at Kafana
Saturday: The Main Event 🥂
All of this led up to the crown jewel of the weekend, Karakterre itself, a celebration of Central and Eastern European wines that’s become one of the most anticipated tastings in New York.
Pictured: Karakterre
This year’s fair took place right on the waterfront at Domino Park, with the Williamsburg Bridge stretching across the skyline. The weather was perfect, the energy was high, and every table seemed to hold a familiar face; winemakers we’ve known for years, friends from past fairs, and new people discovering these wines for the first time.
Pictured: Maria and Sepp Muster Wines
The wines were showing beautifully. More than anything, it felt like a celebration not just of the bottles, but of the community that’s grown around them. Thankful to have another one in the books.
Wine Writers We’re Reading Right Now 📰
From Substacks to import offers, these are the writers keeping our love for wine alive and evolving.
There’s a ton of amazing wine writing out there right now, and we find ourselves constantly learning something new about wine, people, and place. The landscape keeps evolving, there are so many voices doing interesting, thoughtful, and often funny work, and here are a few that we keep coming back to.
Not Drinking Poison - Aaron Ayscough
Aaron Ayscough’s Not Drinking Poison is, in our opinion, one of the most important resources for natural wine today. His writing dives deep into the culture and context around natural wine, not just bottles and tasting notes, but how people drink, farm, and live. It’s part newsletter, part field report, and it consistently connects dots between regions, movements, and philosophies that others overlook.
Vom Boden - Stephen Bitterolf
Stephen Bitterolf, founder of Vom Boden, one of the leading importers of German wine in the US, is also one of the most gifted wine writers working today. His monthly-ish newsletters are as much about storytelling as they are about selling wine. He weaves humor, history, and cultural context into every offer, turning what could just be a product email into a mini essay on why German wine is so good. His words are a big reason we fell in love with Riesling (and the people behind it).
Swurl Media
Swurl is a publication we’ve admired, and collaborated with, for a long time. They highlight a range of voices in wine, covering everything from educational deep dives to more playful takes on wine culture. What we love most is their commitment to accessibility, making wine feel fun, inclusive, and reflective of the people who actually drink it.
SWURL Media
SWURL is a digital media brand dedicated to wine culture and education.
www.swurlmedia.com
Quick plug: We’re moderating a panel for Swurl on Wednesday, November 5th, you can grab tickets here.
Bar Pilar
Pilar Brito is a fantastic writer and one of the sharpest communicators in the wine space right now. Alongside her hugely popular videos on social media, she runs a Substack that’s equal parts organized, insightful, and personal. Her content bridges the gap between educational and genuinely enjoyable, the kind of writing you read because you want to, not because you feel like you should.
Steven Graf
Steven Graf, a New York–based distributor, writes one of our favorite Substacks about wine and the culture around it. His essays are smart, independent, and always feel unmistakably his. Whether he’s unpacking how we talk about wine or challenging the industry’s clichés, there’s a real honesty and perspective to his work that we deeply respect.
Ehk.vin - Eun Hee Kwon
Eun Hee Kwon is a New York–based sommelier and the voice behind Ehk.vin, a Substack that’s quickly become one of the most refreshing reads in wine right now. Her writing balances sharp industry insight with real warmth and curiosity, pulling from her experience on the floor to explore what’s happening in wine culture today.
There are so many talented wine writers out there, and we’d be remiss not to mention the people whose work laid the foundation for so much of today’s wine conversation, voices like Eric Asimov, Alice Feiring, Simon J. Woolf, Jon Bonné, Jancis Robinson, Jamie Goode, and many more. Each has shaped how we read, think, and talk about wine.
Producer Highlight ⭐
One of our favorite parts of wine is the discovery: we’re constantly being put on to new regions, producers, and cuvées from our friends. We’ll never be able to try EVERY wine, but we want to take a moment to mention some producers that excite us!
Radikon🍷
Location: Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy📍
Pictured: Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy, Image by Britannica
In the northeast corner of Italy, in a region called Friuli, where the Italian and Slovenian borders start to blur, sits Radikon, one of the true icons of natural wine. From this land, the late Stanko Radikon helped redefine what skin-contact white wine could be, drawing inspiration from his neighbor and friend Josko Gravner, and from the ancient amber wines of Georgia, where fermenting white grapes on their skins in clay qvevri has been tradition for thousands of years. What began as a quiet rebellion against industrial winemaking in the 1990s became a full-blown movement: long macerations, deep amber hues, zero sulfur, and a belief that wine should be alive.
Pictured: Stanko Radikon, Image by The New York Times
Today, Saša Radikon, Stanko’s son, carries that same torch. The estate’s lineup, Jakot (Tokaj spelled backward), Sivi (Pinot Grigio), Slatnik, Oslavje, and Ribolla Gialla, reads like a roll call of Friuli’s most expressive native and international varieties. Each is fermented on its skins for weeks or months, aged slowly in large Slavonian oak, and bottled in their distinctive 500 ml and 1 L formats. Stanko famously believed that 500 ml was the perfect amount for one person, and 1 L was the perfect amount for two.
Pictured: Stanko and Saša, Image by Radikon
Since 2003, Radikon has worked completely without sulfur, relying instead on the natural stability that comes from long macerations and careful cellar work. The wines are wild yet balanced; amber liquids that taste like nothing else on earth. In a world obsessed with the new, Radikon proves that true innovation often comes from tradition.
Pictured: Radikon Lineup, Image by Dandelion Wines
When we were first getting into natural wine, Radikon was one of those aspirational bottles: cool name, stunning labels, and most importantly, incredible wine. There’s a reason so many spots, from brand new wine bars to old school institutions, carry Radikon: there’s simply nothing else like it.
MoreNaturalWine has a great interview with Saša here:
If you want to experience these wines firsthand, we’re hosting a Radikon masterclass and tasting next month with our friends at With Others in Brooklyn. We’ll be pouring a flight of Radikon wines and diving into what makes them so special. Tickets are available below!
Wine Club Updates 🍷 📦
October’s shipment should be arriving soon, some of you may have already received it! We’re really excited about this month’s lineup and can’t wait to share more about the wines. Expect some content coming your way soon and if you have any questions or issues, reach out to [email protected] for help!
Not a member yet? You can sign up here:
That’s it for today! Weeks like this remind us why we love doing this. Hope you guys enjoyed!
Thank so much for reading, and as always, drink responsibly! 🥂