Vince from for funk's sake!

Q: In 1-2 sentences, tell us about for funk’s sake!

A: A natural wine subscription for those who like it a little dirty – "for funk's sake!" was started in February 2021 with the ambition to source the funky and wild bottles out there and bring it to your table on a monthly basis. Not willing to settle for just natural wine, I'm always on the lookout for the next freaky bottles, aiming to find the niche ones that defy expectations and charm wine lovers.

Not only am I not afraid of the big bad sediment in the bottle, but I'm actively looking for wines that show a lot of character by being unrefined. Barnyard and nail polish remover notes in the glass? The outrageous ones are exactly what I'm chasing.

Everything is also highly curated and done by hand: hand-selected wine, handwritten tasting notes, and hand-delivery – as I love to meet people and personally tell them about the wine. There's even a handmade paper gift card!

Q: What about You personally, why are you working with this? What's your story?

A: Originally from Romania, I grew up in a winemaking household, and had access to a vineyard in our back garden. As a child, it was the perfect place to play hide-and-seek with friends while snacking on some dusty grapes. As a teenager, it acted as a hiding place for smoking the occasional cigarette I had stolen from my father.

He loved wine – perhaps a little too much as my mom would tell you. He was also good at making it, and was swiftly selling most of the production to other folks in town. Still our attic was filled with massive demijohns and loads of bottles of grape juice. All of it was skin contact and unfiltered, and lots of it was orange wine.

Natural wine was always on the table. It wasn’t love at first sip, but I definitely warmed up to it over the years and would often sneak out some bottles and drink them outside with friends. My upbringing gave me the resources to understand what natural wine can be, what I can expect from it, and how it can completely shatter those expectations by being wild and surprising at times.

It’s those qualities I look for when I select my wine and it’s those exceptional, offbeat bottles that I’m looking to introduce people to. I hope they’ll provide just as much excitement and surprise as they did for me.

Q: What is your favourite bottle in your store right now, and Why should we all buy one?

A: It would have to be the QUETSCHES ALORS from ACHILLÉE – a crémant d'Alsace made of foot-crushed plums and Riesling juice. It's like nothing you've ever tasted and it represents everything I love about experimental winemaking. Sure, I cheated a bit, because it's not exactly wine as we know it, but it's so tasty with all the strawberry and gingerbread notes!

It's the perfect summer afternoon park drink: only 5.5% alc and extremely juicy! The sort of thing that will either impress your Tinder date or make them go wtf. It drinks as fast as lemonade and you'll be wishing for another bottle.

Q: From your shop right now, name some bottles that you consider to be the perfect MOOD BOOSTERS (i.e. pick me ups after a long, dark and cold winter with lockdown and curfew; when we need fun, light friendly and affordable wines).

A: Le Cacheniou from Hauts de Riquets would be my top pick here. It's a very affordable pet nat that punches way above its weight, with so much complexity. Call it dessert in a bottle, with notes of strawberry jam and kombucha, maraschino cherry and plenty of funk. It's so underrated that I'm even reluctant to spill the beans about it – try it and thank me later!