ZoomKr Toixa2023
Belly Wine ExperimentAuvergne, France
About this wine
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.
Winemaking
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.