On our way to the massive wine trade fair ProWein in Düsseldorf, Germany we stopped over in Cologne to visit a very different event - The Wein Salon Natürel. It is a smaller wine trade fair that also features some Sake and spirits, but it focuses exclusively on natural products, that were made with minimal intervention.

While ProWein is an industry event, the Wein Salon is a get together of artisans and enthusiast, who want to be anything but an industry. The wines presented here are as different as the crowd who attends the event.

Instead of overly polished industrial products you find authenticity. You can feel that the goal of the winemakers is to go back to the roots and essence of wine before the industrial revolution messed around with it. Truly authentic expressions of the soil and the character of the vines like our ancestors made them.

But the movement is far from being conservative. You can literally feel the energy and creativity when you visit this event. It reminds of the early days of the Craft Beer movement.

The crowd is diverse inklusive and friendly and the winemakers are enthusiastic, proud of their products and eager to share with visitors and fellow vignerons.