Straight to the sauce: where to subscribe for the best indie booze-makers

Witnessing small drinks producers go to the wall this year has been heartbreaking. But it’s not our pity they need – it’s our business. And there are now more merchants than ever that can take you straight to the source.

Sin Gusano is an independent online retailer and subscription club that deals exclusively in the hyper-artisan world of mezcal. “Most of these are tiny family operations in back gardens or shared community palenques,” says British founder Jon Darby. “Some of these mezcals have never even left the village they’re made in, let alone the country.” A former risk analyst, 35-year-old Darby quit the City after a transformational visit to Mexico in 2016, and spends more than a third of every year travelling the country winkling out the rarest mezcals. “It’s almost like an anthropological project,” he says. “Some villages use clay stills, some use copper, others use hollowed-out tree trunks. Then there’s the local agave varieties and soil types, and everyone’s idea of what mezcal should taste like is different.”

That stylistic diversity, ironically, is now being threatened by booming global demand for agave spirits, says Darby. “Big drinks companies are coming into villages, buying up those mezcals up at a low price and blending them so all the uniqueness – and heritage – is lost.” As well as championing individual producers, Sin Gusano donates 10 per cent of all profits to charities such as Sacred, which works with NGOs to promote sustainable farming practices in mezcal-producing regions. “It’s about protecting the biodiversity of the region, and the cultural diversity,” says Darby.

The little guy is also at the heart of Sip Champagnes – a new online shop and wine club that sources limited-run cuvées from lesser-known producers. “I have enormous love and respect for many of the grand marques, but you can buy them anywhere,” says Sip co-founder Peter Crawford. “Why drink the same as everyone else?” A passionate and highly knowledgeable collector in his own right, Crawford is a regular visitor to the region. “2020 has been especially hard for Champagne,” he says, “not just with coronavirus but with poor sales and incredibly restricted yields. Next year I expect we’ll see a lot of vineyards and wineries up for sale. So it’s more important than ever that we give those producers a voice.” 

Some of these mezcals have never even left the village

Sip subscriptions start at £100 a month for two to three champagnes, tasting notes and a monthly winemaker tasting, rising to £500 for up to nine bottles a month, plus access to ultra-rare bottlings, exclusives and – in time – winemaker dinners and trips. Highlights from the December edit include Domaine Vincey’s tropical blanc de blancs Le Grand Jardin 2014 (£110), and Pinot Noir Tome 1 (£70), the imposing, oak-forward debut from hotly tipped winemaker Gaspard Brochet. If you want a heads-up on the cult names of tomorrow, this is the place to come.

Part of the fun of buying wine from indie producers is hearing the story behind the bottle – and few tell it better than Little Wine, a new website and e-tailer that champions small winemakers with a sustainable bent. “Modern wine is often so far removed from what is actually happening in the vineyard and in the cellar – we wanted to put that at the forefront,” says co-founder Christina Rasmussen. Using a mix of beautifully shot short films, photography and chatty prose, Rasmussen goes behind the scenes with the likes of Oregon permaculture pioneers Hiyu Wine Farm, Burgenland’s biodynamic duo Stefanie and Susanne Renner and Alsatian winemaker Lucas Rieffel (maker of gorgeous organic Crémant d’Alsace). A monthly subscription unlocks more in-depth content, as well as curated mixed cases (delivered carbon-neutrally) and exclusive digital content.

“There’s a saying: ‘You’re only as good as your petit vin [entry-level wine]’ – and we liked that spirit of humility,” says Rasmussen. “We want to show you don’t have to have a château to make great wine.”  

 @alicelascelles