Hey guys!
This week is a packed one. We’re talking about where to drink wine in Rio, recapping the Loire Valley wine fairs, and sharing a visit with Jean-Pierre Robinot. Enjoy!
Exploring the Rio Wine Scene 🇧🇷
Rio is an incredibly beautiful city: beaches, culture, the whole thing. It’s not exactly a wine place, and when you do find bottles, they can be pricey due to import taxes, so I found myself drinking more beer than anything else. That said, there are a few great spots for a solid bottle of wine. Here were the favorites:
Pictured: Rio de Janeiro. Image by Afar
1.) Aprazível
This restaurant felt like a treehouse in the hills. Tucked away in a more secluded part of the city, Aprazível is the main spot for wine in Rio. The list pulls from all over the world, and the setting is a former residence built into the side of a hill. This place is definitely a splurge but will scratch the wine itch if you’re in need.
Pictured: Aprazível
2.) Deja Vu - Cafe & Bar
I felt like I was at a typical New York City wine bar here. There were neon lights, leather couches, empty bottles on the shelves. They focus mostly on South American wines and we got a fun bottle of Brazilian Wine while we were here.
Pictured: Deja Vu - Cafe & Bar
And if you want dinner too, one of my favorite meals in the city was just down the street at La Buta Mar.
3.) Virtuoso Vino
This was the spot that kept coming up in recommendations, and it’s conveniently located between Copacabana and Ipanema. The wine list is extensive, with a special focus on standout bottles from Brazil. I couldn’t spend much time there this visit, but it’s at the top of my list for next time I’m back.
Pictured: Virtuoso Vino. Image by Raisin App
A Recap of Loire Wine Fair Season 🇫🇷
Loire Valley fair week has come to a close. Final tally after four days: seven fairs, 50 producers, and 250+ wines tasted. Beyond the tastings, there were late nights at wine bars, spontaneous conversations, and an sense of community that brought it all together. Here’s a few highlights from the week:
Pictured: La Dive
Favorite Fair Setting
There were a ton of great fairs this past week, not just the main event at La Dive. We also went to several smaller side salons that felt more intimate and were interesting enough to hang around for more than a few hours. One I really loved was Il Était Une Fois Salon du Vin, hosted inside an old Loire Valley château. It’s an incredible setting and a fair I’ve now been to twice, not just for the wines, but for the backdrop too.
Pictured: Il Était Une Fois Salon du Vin
Most Memorable Wine
While it feels nearly impossible after tasting so much great wine all week, a few bottles really stuck with me. Like the “Wow, I need to remember that one” kind of wines. One of them was a long élevage Chardonnay from Domaine de Montaillant. Based in Côtes de la Charité and made by Alexis Hudon, these wines really stood out, and we’re hearing they should be arriving in the U.S. very soon thankfully.
Pictured: Domaine de Montaillant Chardonnay
Producer We’re Excited to Follow
Thankfully, I was able to bump into a lot of friends at the wine fairs; producers, importers, sommeliers, the whole mix. At one of the fairs, Disgression, I ran into Roman Lawson, who’s making wine in the Jura. Roman took over the famous Domaine Lulu estate and has been patiently sitting on his wines for a few years before releasing them. I got to try a few of his first bottlings and was really impressed. Really excited to see where he goes from here.
Pictured: Roman Lawson
Best After-Hours Hang
This one always feels like a tie between Cercle Rouge in Angers and La Tonnelle in Saumur. Both are special spots where the community comes together to share bottles, recap the day, and reconnect with old friends. This year they were both packed, with the party spilling onto the streets. It’s always the best way to wrap up a day of tasting in the Loire.
Pictured: La Tonnelle in Saumur
Most Unexpected
I finally got to try some wines from the UK at La Dive this year and was pleasantly surprised. After years of hearing how both their still and sparkling wines keep improving, I tasted a few bottles from Sophie Evans, who makes wine in Kent. They weren’t the top wines of the week for me, but the quality and finesse really stood out, and it definitely left me excited to explore more wines from Sophie, and from the UK more broadly.
Pictured: Sophie Evans Pinot Gris
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!
Jean-Pierre Robinot 🍷
Location: Loire Valley, France 📍
Pictured: L’Ange Vin in Loire
Jean-Pierre Robinot is one of those figures whose influence runs through the entire natural wine movement. Raised in the small village of Chahaignes in the Loire, he found his way into wine early, learning through people rather than institutions: growers, writers, and restaurateurs. In the early 1980s, he co-founded Le Rouge et le Blanc, a magazine that helped shape how natural wine was discussed in France, before opening one of Paris’s earliest wine bars devoted strictly to low-intervention wines. Long before “natural wine” became a category, Robinot was already building the language, the spaces, and the community around it.
Pictured: Jean-Pierre Robinot
In 2002, he returned home to Chahaignes to make wine, launching his domaine under the name L’Ange Vin. Farming roughly ten hectares, he works primarily with Chenin Blanc and Pineau d’Aunis, with a small amount of Cabernet Franc. In the cellar, everything moves slowly: long pressings, extended élevage on lees, no sulfur, no additives. The result is wine that feels alive, shaped as much by time as it is by place.
Pictured: Robinot Wines
I had the privilege of visiting Jean-Pierre at his domaine this past Tuesday, and it was one of the most comprehensive visits I’ve ever experienced. We began in his storage shed, tasting through his entire lineup, including back vintages of Chenin from 2005 and 2006, which were some of my favorite wines from the entire Loire Valley fair week. From there, we visited several of his cellars, tucked into a series of caves on the property, lined with endless rows of barrels holding wines dating back to his earliest vintages in the early 2000s. He tried us on samples from the 2025 vintage alongside rarer, older vintages pulled straight from the barrel.
Pictured: Robinot Caves
The day ended with a long lunch at his home just down the road, where his partner and daughter cooked for us. The meal included braised short rib made using the lees from his Pineau d’Aunis, green beans from the garden, and a lineup of back-vintage bottles to pair with it all. It was a truly special experience, huge thanks to Jean-Pierre for such an unforgettable day.
Pictured: Robinot’s Home
Upcoming Events 🗓
Drinks First x Wingmate x SuperVinoBros @ PearlBox
When and Where: Tuesday, Feburary 10th at 357 W Broadway, New York, NY
We’re teaming up with our friends at Drinks First and Wingmate at PeralBox! There’s going to be Bingo, Prizes, and a lot of wine. More info here if interested!
Burnt Orange Honey x Josh Atwood x SuperVinoBros
When and Where: Thursday, February 12th in Sunset Park, Brooklyn
We’re hosting a little pre-Valentine’s Day dinner with the talented chef, Josh Atwood, and Burnt Orange Honey. There’s going to be a fantastic menu with a ton of wine to pair with it. Tickets are here if interested!
Wine Club Updates 🍷 📦
We have an incredibly exciting line up for the month of February, might be up there with one of our favorites so far. Should be shipping them out next week. If you need anything, just email [email protected] and they’ll help you out!
Not a member yet? You can sign up here:
That’s it for today! It was so nice meeting some of you in the Loire this past weekend, incredibly appreciative for all your support. I’ll be in Paris for a few days before heading back to New York and looking forward to sharing the experience.
Thank so much for reading, and as always, drink responsibly! 🥂