Back in March 2021 Russell Faulkner and his wife, Sema, opened Feral Art & Vin in the heart of the old city of Bordeaux. To open a shop selling natural wines, alongside art exhibitions, and indeed to stock around 50% of their wines from outside of France, was a very brave move back then. As lots of people have been talking about the state of the wine trade and the market for wine in the UK right now, I thought it would be a good time to catch up with Russell again to ask him how his venture has worked out.

I explained back in that 2021 article that I knew Russell back in the days when we both used to drink more, shall I say, classical wines. We were part of a privileged group of friends who were lucky enough to enjoy a very generous discount along with free BYO at the restaurants owned by Nigel Platts-Martin, including a monthly themed lunch at The Ledbury. Russell then went to work overseas but we kept vaguely in touch, but more so since he returned to Europe, choosing France rather than the UK for his and his wife’s business venture.

Russell and Sema

I began by asking Russell how a lover of the classic wines of France and Germany became an advocate for natural wines? Russell replied that he’d always liked wines with a more “natural set of clothes”. Many of the wines we drank back in the 2000s onwards, to be fair, came from smaller family producers who took care of their land, and didn’t mess around an awful lot in the winery.

It’s also true, because it is something we shared, that Russell and Sema got interested in Grower Champagnes early on. I think it was Russell who first got me interested in both Lilbert and Pierre Péters, producers whose bottles I remember buying from The Sampler when it first opened in Islington, before later visits to the region. Grower Champagne has been a way into natural wine for many people I know, such was the state of the Champagne “industry” as a whole twenty years ago.

Like me, Russell isn’t a fundamentalist so there are no rules about what can and what can’t be drunk. To do so is to miss out on a lot of great wine, as he rightly says. The big shift for Russell and Sema has been a greater focus on new producers, whether that be from Burgundy or Burgenland. Being open-minded is the key he says, with which I would obviously concur. He sees a lot of new wines which are not really exported (which is why a careful perusal of his shelves and web site are always worth your time).

Why a specialist natural wine shop, and in Bordeaux of all places? “Well, it was a bit of an accident. We arrived in France (nipped in pre-Brexit) with no plans. Originally, we wanted to operate a mixed space with a café…but a restaurant or bar wasn’t really compatible with our family life at the time (with young children), so a small shop with a single wall of around a hundred references allows the other walls to be used as gallery space, combining two of our passions”.

I suggested that Bordeaux appears pretty conservative when it comes to wine, even arrogant and parochial. Is this broadly true? Russell says it all depends on who you talk to and where you go. Bordeaux has more restaurants per capita than anywhere else in France, so there are many boring wine lists containing average wines with questionable farming practices. He suggests the main change came with the arrival of the fast trains from Paris seven-to-eight years ago. With it simultaneously came a new breed of restaurateurs and bar owners, mostly outsiders, and more willing to experiment with new ideas. There were always a few experimenters but far more now.

The big question for many of us would be how natural wine goes down in the city? As Russell says, “well, it’s not Berlin, Paris or Copenhagen but I’d say there’s a growing interest, albeit largely focussed on France”. Linked to the influx from outside of Bordeaux there are plenty of chefs and sommeliers who like to experiment with foreign wines. Sales of German wines are way higher now than in the early days of Feral.

“When we applied for our Licence to import wines directly the Customs helpline seemed genuinely baffled why anyone would want to import non-French wines and our next-door neighbour, who worked for a big Bordeaux negociant, claimed he wasn’t aware that Germany made wine…I think he was only half joking”.

This does rather resonate with me. We have wine loving friends in Paris, who have a fine cellar in their old apartment building, well-stocked with Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne (almost exclusively loyal to just one marque because of a family connection). They used to be aware of only Vin Jaune as a wine made in The Jura, and may not have ever tried it. English Sparkling Wine was a bit of a joke to them until I took some over eight or nine years ago.

Of course, you can find foreign wine in Bordeaux, but Russell jokes that it has to be Italian and also (with the occasional standout exception, see restaurants below) start with a “B”.

Asking about the type of customers Feral gets, Russell thinks many regulars are linked to the wine or food trades. He says they have a few regulars who work at quite classical Bordeaux Châteaux, a couple right at the top of the 1855 Classification. But by far the single best way to get new customers, including those from abroad, has been the Raisin natural wine app. I assume most of my readers use it?

Initially Russell wasn’t keen to sell online, saying “It’s very impersonal” (though he does have a few overseas customers he talks with regularly), and there are some “Amazons of natural wine” out there with whom it’s impossible to compete both on range and price. But after feeling they had to go down the online route it now works out at perhaps 50:50 online and in-store. One thing they’ve found is that many natural wine producers value bricks and mortar and some give preferential allocations to real shops. A couple even request that they don’t sell their wines online, which Russell and Sema naturally respect. I’ve heard of this myself, it being far from uncommon.

It would be wholly wrong to forget the art, because that isn’t just a sideline. With a small but rotating selection of wines on one long wall this allows plenty of wall space to be used for exhibitions. Each can last between one month and three, with longer exhibitions in the holidays. Sometimes they will do a fundraiser event (eg Ukraine), and a student expo is coming up where young local talent will be able to sell their works with zero commission.

There is always a vernissage (opening evening) where some natural wine gets poured. It’s usually something not too “feral” with a funkier option under the bar for anyone keen to try it. It’s a good way to get crossover trade. Once a month the artists being shown do an “apero and paint” event, where people can come and paint/make something in that artist’s style and drink some wine at the same time. “We usually charge €35-40 so it’s pretty good value”.

With transport costs, Customs Duty and paperwork making wine all of a sudden so much more expensive in the UK, how do you find things work for Feral, I wondered? The advantage Feral has (aside from French wine duties being a very different ball game) is that “in having an import licence, most wines can, except in a small number of cases, be imported direct”. It cuts out the middle man completely. The downside is Spain, where an exclusive importer brings in a few wines Russell would love to stock but they charge almost the Spanish retail price for them, so he won’t list them.

As for Germany, Russell makes a trip to the Mosel (always a passion) two-to-three times a year, but sadly he says “Baden is that little bit too far”. With regions like Burgundy and Champagne (Feral is always hot on new Growers, from both) “we can also just drive and fill up the car”. But it takes time, so in person trips and visits are usually limited to Jura, Burgundy, Champagne and Mosel.

Interestingly, because it’s the same for us here in the UK, Russell says that the challenge is getting an allocation. “New producers often become cult before they bottle their first vintage in the Insta age and the big overseas importers all have someone working for them on the ground, but customer recommendations are great, and whilst cult is cult, there’s a lot of great wine to go around”.

As I know this man has his finger very much on the natural wine pulse (judging by the stock he puts up on Instagram), I naturally had to ask Russell which up-and-coming producers he’s particularly enjoying, and what outstanding bottles he’s had, more generally, over the past year?

“New finds include Domaine La Mutine in Vézélay, Jintaro Yura in Alsace, Si Tu Sais in Burgundy and Tailleurs Cueilleurs in Bugey…We had a few great bottles in Spain over New Year, with Overnoy Vieux Savagnin 1998 probably the most amazing”.

New Year stars at Russell’s secret location in Northern Spain

The next obvious question is about what is “happening” right now. I always highlight natural wine in Alsace, once-derided varieties made by young growers in Germany, Czech wine, Portugal and Deutschschweiz. Russell identifies “the New Germany”, especially Spätburgunder (Wasenhaus, Lassak, Makalie, Enderle & Moll, Jonas Dostert), along with “new wave” Burgundy (Les Horées, Dandelion, Wolber, Didon, Mutine, Noé). He calls some of those a little mainstream now, though at least half of them won’t be found in Britain.

Si Tu Sais, Domaine Didon, La Mutine

I’m always noticing Feral stocking Grower Champagne I’ve never come across (usually with bright, modern, labels). I got Petit Clergeot (north of Les Riceys), Tom Gauditiabois (at Chezy-sur-Marne), La Rogerie (Flavigny, east of Avize), and Salima & Alain Cordeuil (Côte des Bars, and available, at a price, from Newcomer Wines in the UK) as Feral recommendations.

Salima & Alain Cordeuil

I asked Russell what it’s like living in Bordeaux? “We like it a lot. It’s a good size, not too big nor too small, and a great place to bring up children, and very close to the beaches and mountains. We cycle a lot and there are long bike routes to the sea, and towards Saint-Emilion. There are enough restaurants to keep things varied. Apparently, there are some big châteaux you can go and visit too”.

For visitors, what are your favourite spots for dining?

“I think by far my favourite is Au Bistro near Capucins Market, an unpretentious classical bistro with a daily changing menu. Soif is a great spot with a wonderful wine list. Resources, and its new sibling, Vivant has a Michelin Star but they are very laid back, with good lists too. Tentatzione is a One-Star Italian with one of the greatest Italian lists in France. There are other hidden spots to get a cheap bottle of Rayas or DRC…come into the shop and I’ll tell you where to go.”

Feral Art & Vin is at

22 rue Buhan, 33000 Bordeaux

Opening hours are 2pm – 6.30pm Monday to Saturday and 10.30am – 1pm Sundays.

NB Closed 22 February to 3 March for anyone planning an imminent visit!

Web site – www.feralartetvin.com

Instagram – feralartetvin

Delivery throughout Europe. Not sure that includes the UK any more, sadly.

Feral is somewhere to find an eclectic and exciting range of natural wines, and if you do visit, I’d suggest Russell or Sema be allowed to point you towards wines you’ve not tried. They may well be the kind of wines which will cost a lot more in a year’s time. Especially if they appear some time here in the UK.