It’s (natural) wine o’clock: 10 natural wine places in Brussels
Natural wine -
what is that? Normally, this means that the wine is produced without any
chemical additives, like sulphites. As soon as even a small quantity of these
is added (at bottling for example) one speaks of organic wines and not natural
anymore. But lines are blurred here and there is no strict regulation, which is
why one natural can differ to some extent from another one.
The concept of
natural wine is an issue where often no common opinions exist. Some love it and
say they don’t drink anything else anymore, some say it’s not a great concept.
Why? Because according to the contra-camp, the wine cannot evolve during the
same time as other non-natural wines do. This is, because natural wine can’t be
conserved for a long period of time as it will simply go bad. Also, they say
that because of lacking additives, natural wines take up unwanted flavours, and
end up tasting like cabbage or similar odeurs.
I do like
natural wine a lot. Especially, because very often it doesn’t give you that
unwanted headache the next day, or at least not a major one as some wines do.
Of course not all natural wines taste great and also some are being sold a bit
overpriced. That’s why I put together this small list for spots in Brussels
where the wine is great and the food is also worth trying.
1. Chez Jane: A newly opened wine shop that also organizes tastings. The price
for abottle can range between 10€ to 30€ or more. The owner Matthieu and
Coralie are more than happy to give you advice, otherwise Matthieu Dubrana,
sommelier and creator of the wine Exode (available
in both red and white) is also there to give you to give you tipps so you can
make a choice between the many French, German or other natural and biodynamic
wines that are available at Chez Jane.
Price: 10-40€ for a bottle of wine
Address: Rue Washington 63, 1050 Ixelles
2. Tarzan: The counterpart to Jane.
Here you can order a bottle or a glass of wine that are offered next door at
their shop. The cool thing here is that you can sit down in a nice atmosphere,
surrounded by light wooden tables and a shelf full of plants in the back of the
place. It’s not a huge restaurant, but very cosy and people are also nice and
helpful. Food served here, are little plates like hummus or burrata. When I was
there last time, two cooks from Scandinavia put together a very nice 5-course
menu for 55€, to be shared by two. It contained cucumber gazpacho with goat
cheese ice cream, pickled herring, and liquorish ice cream (the texture was
perfect) as dessert. This was a special event, but I’m sure they’ll host
something similar soon again.
Price: 5-7€
for a glass of wine, around 8-10€ for a small dish to share
Address: Rue
Washington 59, 1050 Ixelles
3. Le Tournant: After an extensive review (here) I have to talk
about the wine at the restaurant. Denis, the chef, is a big fan of natural
wines and that’s also the only wines served at here. It was incredible how
every dish during our dinner was matched with a certain wine so perfectly, that
both complemented and enforced each other in taste. A sparkling Chenin with
fish, a Languedoc and another white wine from Tuscany with raw fish Tartare,
Foie Gras, Pâté and Rillettes.
Another Languedoc from Grenache and Cinsault grapes with the perfect Entrecôte
and finally the delicious yuzu Sake together with the lemon cake, Moscato d’Asti
with a pear and apple crumble and sparkling wine with the chocolate tart. Pure
perfection.
Price: A glass of wine around
6€, starters around 9-12€, mains around 18€
Address: Chaussée de Wavre 168,
1050 Ixelles
4. Les Brigittines: It was here that I
first tried the white Exode produced
by Mathieu Dubrana and Nicolas Scheidt. The wine is quite special and not everyone’s
thing, but goes great with fish and seafood. A hint of cabbage in its taste is
what some people don’t like, but for me it was just perfect. Here as well, the dishes are paired with very nice wines if
you ask for some tips.
Price: set menus
are between 48€ and 55€ for 4-6 courses, around 15-18€ for a starter, 24-30€
for a main dish, wines range from 25€ up for a bottle
Address: Place de la
Chapelle 5, 1000 Bruxelles
5. Le bout de gras: In the heart of Châtelain,
this place serves a number of natural wines along with food that is a mix
between traditional French and kitchen from La Réunion. Make sure to try the
cassoulet dish: duck confit, pork, lard, and sausages, mixed with beans and
baked in a crust on panko crumbs. The cook is very nice, up for a shot of
Calvados at the end of your meal. You shouldn’t be impatient though; waiting
times can get a bit long. Not all wines are natural, but all are paired nicely
with the dishes if you ask for it.
Price:
5-7€ for a glass of wine, around 12€ for a first dish and 18€ for a main
Address: Rue Américaine 89, 1050 Ixelles
6. La Buvette: A nice restaurant serving 6
or 9-course dinners, paired with wine or not, depending on your preferences. But
even if you order just a glass, there will be surely something to please you. A
longer review on the food can be found here. The sommelier
choosing the wines for the restaurant is Matthieu Dubrana, therefore Exode can be found here as well.
Price: around 6€ for a glass of wine, 49€
for 6 courses, 64€ for 9 courses
Address: Chaussee d’Alsemberg 108, 1060 St
Gilles
7. Rubis Wine Bar: A small shop with some
seating inside and outside that gets quite buzzing on the weekends. Two big
shelves cover the wall on the right side of the entrance with many, many wine
bottles. Not all are natural wines, but the waitresses are happy to help and
tell you which are. Although I saw some wines in the selection that were French
supermarket wines that I wasn’t a big fan of when I tried them back in Paris,
the overall selection is quite nice and you can have a little snack at the bar,
too.
Price: 3-6€ for a glass, 10€ and up
for a bottle
Address: Avenue Adolphe Demeur 34, 1060 Saint-Gilles
8. Titulus: A nice little shop with some
seating in the back of the shop and outside. This is the place where many wines
from Le Tournant come from and also
other restaurants get their wines from here. The selection is not huge but
unique, offering some very nice natural wines. You can have some charcuterie
and some nice cheeses with it, or simply buy a bottle and take it home.
Price: 8€ and up for a bottle
Address:
Chaussée de Wavre 167A, 1050 Ixelles
9. Cave Coop: Not far off place Flagey,
this shop opened 3 months ago and offers a small amount of well-chosen and very
fair-priced natural wines, soon being turned into more of a wine bar, as right
now it’s more of a shop. They also have a wine made by themselves, which I am
keen to taste soon, but which unfortunately was not available to taste when I
was there.
Price: 7€ and up for a bottle
Address: 1050, Rue Lesbroussart 21, 1050 Ixelles
10. Jane’s: Not the same as Chez Jane
but not far from it. The shop is owned and run by Jane, known in the Brussels music
scene. Pablo the manager, also a DJ, gave us a little wine lesson with their
bio wines and a few natural ones that you can get per glass or bottle. The
place is decorated in a simple but nice way with bar men and women being very
friendly. The place serves some small dishes, like baked scamorza, Croque’s, or
cheese platters and charcuterie. And of course, the music selection here is
superb.
Price: Around 5-7€ for a glass
and 25-25€ per bottle, small dishes are between 4-12€
Address: Chaussée de
Waterloo 393, 1050 Ixelles
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