I had the pleasure of interviewing Isabelle Legeron MW, founder of RAW WINE, amid the electric atmosphere of the RAW WINE fair in Paris. As someone who has long admired her work, I’m continually struck by how much she embodies—not just as the first French woman to become a Master of Wine, but as an environmental advocate, mother, and remarkably grounded person who has quietly reshaped the way so many of us think about wine.
Her story begins on a family farm in the Cognac region of France, where agriculture was woven into her earliest memories. There, she witnessed firsthand the heavy toll industrial farming and pesticides exacted on health and the land. Those experiences instilled in her a lifelong conviction: the best way forward is to work *with* nature, never against it.
That conviction found new depth during her rigorous Master of Wine studies, when she discovered what she calls an “alternative wine world.” Small producers crafting low-intervention wines—free of excessive additives, high sulfites, or chemical shortcuts—captivated her completely. These wines tasted alive, authentic, and resonant in ways conventional ones never had, perfectly mirroring the values she had carried since childhood.
“It turned my life on its head,” she told me. The wines seized her both on the palate and philosophically, sparking a dedication that would define her path.
At the time, natural wine lacked real visibility or infrastructure in the UK, where she was based. In 2012 she responded by founding RAW WINE: a platform to celebrate these growers, build community, demand greater transparency, and forge direct connections between makers and drinkers through fairs, education, and honest conversation.
Those original guiding principles remain as vital today as they were then. Isabelle deliberately designed RAW WINE as an inclusive space where growers could speak with both trade professionals and everyday consumers. “Consumers are crucial—they buy the wine,” she emphasized. Unlike many closed-door industry tastings, RAW WINE opens its doors wide, inviting real dialogue across every table.
Transparency has always been another cornerstone. Twenty years ago, most people had little idea what happened inside the bottle—how much sulfites dioxide was added, or what other interventions took place. RAW WINE set out to change that by encouraging growers to share these details openly and without judgment, so people could choose with knowledge rather than guesswork.
Above all, though, the mission is about serving nature. Isabelle champions organic and minimal-intervention wines to reduce viticulture’s environmental burden. She personally notices a tangible difference: these “living wines” feel more vibrant and harmonious in the body than their conventional counterparts.
She often uses the term “living wine” for low-intervention styles – typically ≤30 ppm sulfites, unfiltered, teeming with visible microbial life under a microscope—though she readily acknowledges that “natural wine” has become the more familiar label.
That sense of life and vitality runs deep in her own memories, too. One stands out vividly: the rich, heady smell of fermenting grape juice from childhood days spent helping her grandfather in the family winery. That sweet-tangy aroma of active fermentation still transports her instantly back to the harvest bustle on the farm. It’s the very same lively, yeasty energy she finds—and loves—in the young pét-nats she enjoys today: fresh, fizzy wines bottled while fermentation is still underway, carrying echoes of the unpolished, elemental magic she first encountered as a girl. For Isabelle, it’s a straight line from a childhood scent to her lifelong devotion to living, low-intervention wines.
The conversation turned even more personal when I asked who she would most want to share a bottle with, and why. Her answer came without hesitation and carried quiet weight: her late father, who died of lung cancer when she was just 25.
“He never had the chance to taste the kind of beautiful wine I work with now,” she said, “the kind he could never have afforded back then.” In that imagined evening she would pour him something exceptional and walk him through her journey—from the Cognac farm where he raised her amid soil and seasons, to becoming France’s first female Master of Wine and founding RAW WINE. It would be her way of honoring the agricultural roots he gave her and showing him how deeply his legacy still runs through everything she does.
Her words hit especially close to home for me. I lost my own father to cancer when I was 23, so hearing her speak about that unfinished conversation—that wish to share a bottle and a story—felt achingly familiar. It reminded me how often the most powerful moments in wine have little to do with vintage or score, and everything to do with memory, gratitude, and the people we wish could still raise a glass with us.
Isabelle has also navigated the natural wine world as a woman, facing more scrutiny and criticism than some of her male counterparts. Her advice to others entering the industry is characteristically direct and grounded:
– Prepare for hardship—recognize the gender-based challenges, but keep going.
– Trust your instincts—tune out the external noise and follow your own intuition rather than trying to please everyone.
– Work diligently—there are no shortcuts; real success comes from consistent effort.
Even with a demanding travel schedule, she balances family life and the occasional escape into foraging—though she admits it’s difficult to find time during peak seasons like autumn.
Looking ahead, she is eager to bring RAW WINE to high-potential emerging markets. These are regions with a new generation of wine drinkers who are excited to embrace the fun and joy of wine, rather than being “educated” into the often exclusive, traditional, and occasion-driven world of classic wines. Promising markets could include Brazil and several rapidly developing Asian countries. While high costs and logistical challenges remain significant hurdles, she remains optimistic and hopeful about the possibilities.
Isabelle Legeron’s path reflects an unwavering commitment to authenticity, resilience, and respect for the natural world. Through RAW WINE she is not only showcasing a different kind of wine; she is empowering consumers, uplifting small growers, and proving that wine can be both delicious and a genuine force for good.
It was an honor to sit down with her in Paris. Her warmth, clarity, and quiet determination make her not just an icon in the wine world, but an inspiration for anyone striving to build something meaningful.