Belly Wine Experiment
Auvergne, France
A fearless Auvergne collective founded by Claire Sage, Aimé Duveau, and Guy Enoch in Chanteuges, exploring fermentation without limits — blending Catalan Xarel-lo with Auvergnat Gamay, Alsatian Pinot Gris with southern Carignan, and crafting meticulous heirloom perries alongside experimental pét-nats. Forgive the name-dropping, but we need to mention the circle of family, friends and mentors: Aurelian Lefort, Manu Duveau (Yahou Fatal), Adrien Sage (natural wine importer) and the star of the show, Gamay d'Auvergne. We're proud to support these young experimental winemakers' introduction to the US. The wines are certainly experimental, but we took our small allocation to get in on the ground floor of what is sure to be an exceptional journey.
Winemaking Philosophy
At a Glance
2019
Founded
Region
Auvergne, France
Grapes
Gamay d'Auvergne, Xarel-lo, Macabeo, Pinot Gris, Carignan, Riesling +2 more
Farming
Organic and biodynamic sourcing from vineyards farmed without chemicals.
Harvest
Hand-harvested grapes from partner vineyards across Auvergne, Catalonia, Alsace, and southern France..
On the map
Belly Wine Experiment — Auvergne
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Tchiki Tchiki
2022 · Still · White · 12%
Sauvignon Blanc
Tchiki Tchiki is one of the rarer monovarietal cuvées in the Belly Wine Experiment range, built around Sauvignon Blanc rather than the producer's signature Catalan-Auvergne blends. Claire Sage and Aimé Duveau work the same way across every bottling: native-yeast fermentation, no inputs in the cellar, no fining or filtration, no added sulfur. The 12% alcohol matches the house preference for early picks and restrained extraction. Expect the wine to read more like an Auvergne natural white (stony, savoury, brisk) than a textbook Loire Sauvignon, with the variety's overt grass-and-citrus fingerprint intentionally muted by the cellar approach. A short, low-alcohol bottle from a producer whose project is to test the limits of what a single grape can carry.
Native-yeast fermentation, direct press. No inputs in the cellar, no fining or filtration, no added sulfur. House preference for early picks keeps the alcohol at 12%.
Kr Toixa
2023 · Still · Orange · 10.3%
Xarel-lo
Claire Sage and Aimé Duveau set up Belly Wine Experiment in 2020 in Chanteuges, Haute-Loire, as an open laboratory rather than an estate. Their bottlings deliberately cross borders: Catalan grapes (sourced through Claire's brother Adrien Sage, a longstanding Catalan importer) sit alongside Auvergne fruit from Aimé's father Manu Duveau of Domaine de l'Égrappille. Kr Toixa pulls Xarel-lo from Catalonia, the Auvergne cellar handling élevage. The 10.3% alcohol points to an early pick and a short, focused skin-contact maceration; the result is a low-key orange wine, more textured than tannic, with Xarel-lo's saline almond character intact. Wild ferment, no inputs in the cellar, no added sulfur. A useful aperitif bottle for a sommelier wanting something genuinely off-script.
Native-yeast fermentation. Short, focused skin-contact maceration on Catalan Xarel-lo. No inputs in the cellar, no fining or filtration, no added sulfur at any stage. House style favors early picks and low alcohols across the range.
Mensonge à Papa
2023 · Still · Red · 12.5%
Gamay
The 'Lie to Dad' cuvée is a tribute to Aimé Duveau's father, Manu Duveau, the longtime Gamay specialist behind Domaine de l'Égrappille in Auvergne. The blend pulls Gamay d'Auvergne (the dominant share, with characteristic Massif Central acidity) together with Gamay sourced from neighbouring Beaujolais growers. Maceration is longer than the other Belly cuvées but kept gentle; the goal is stony, precise fruit rather than extracted weight. 12.5% alcohol, no added sulfur, native yeasts. This is the most accessible bottle in the Belly range for restaurant by-the-glass programs that want a Gamay with proper energy and a backstory.
Native-yeast fermentation. Longer maceration than the rest of the Belly range, kept deliberately gentle to preserve Gamay's stony fruit rather than extract weight. No fining, no filtration, no added sulfur.
Les Clous et la Poussière
2022 · Still · Red · 13.2%
Carignan Syrah
Belly Wine Experiment's 'Nails and Dust' started as a Carignan-only bottling and now leans on Carignan paired with Syrah. Vinification is semi-carbonic and the wine is bottled with a light spritz: the lightly sparkling format is intentional and house-style, not a flaw. Claire Sage and Aimé Duveau work without sulfur additions and without fining or filtration. The wine is not aiming for plushness; it is built around angular, stony fruit and a chewy texture, held together by Carignan's natural lift. Drink chilled. A cuvée for buyers comfortable with the rougher edges of the natural-wine register, and one that rewards food rather than analysis.
Semi-carbonic maceration, native-yeast fermentation, bottled with a light residual spritz. No fining, no filtration, no added sulfur. Best served chilled.