Magnum Paris: Inside The Natural Wine Bar Redefining Drinking In The Marais

Located in the heart of Le Marais, Magnum is a wine bar and cave à vins specializing in natural and low-intervention wines, offering a thoughtful selection for both vin-naturel enthusiasts and curious newcomers.

Paris has no shortage of wine bars, but Magnum takes a distinctly modern approach to one of the city’s oldest traditions. Located on rue Beautreillis in the Marais, Magnum combines the intimacy of a neighborhood wine bar with the curiosity of a contemporary natural wine shop.

Its selection focuses on bottles made with minimal intervention, bringing together producers that allow the character of the grape, vineyard and vintage to come through rather than attempting to make every bottle taste the same. At the helm is Marco Duce, co-founder of Memento, also created by Matteo Grotti and Joaquin Malki.

General Manager and Sommelier, Louizon Jean Serge, shares the story behind Magnum, his approach to natural wine, and why Paris has become one of the world’s most exciting cities for low-intervention winemaking.

 

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A Different Way of Thinking About Wine

The natural wine movement grew out of a desire among a group of winemakers to return to a more hands-off approach to winemaking. Although there is no single universal definition of natural wine, the philosophy generally emphasizes organically or biodynamically farmed grapes, native fermentation and minimal intervention in the cellar.

The movement gained particular momentum in France during the late 20th century, with winemakers in regions such as Beaujolais and the Loire becoming influential figures in the natural wine scene. Their wines often rejected the highly polished and standardized style that had come to dominate parts of the industry, instead embracing freshness, individuality and a sense of place. As Louizon explained,

“Natural wine has been around for 6,000 years, so it’s just a comeback. The new might be traditional wines, with added sulfites and everything.” 

Paris became an important meeting point for this new wine culture. Independent cavistes, restaurants and wine bars introduced Parisians to bottles that could be cloudy, aromatic, earthy, juicy or even slightly unpredictable. That unpredictability is part of the appeal.

Inside Magnum

Instead of treating wine as something intimidating or overly formal, Magnum creates an environment where guests can ask questions, explore unfamiliar producers and discover wines that they may never have encountered through a conventional wine list. Louizon remarked,

“You’re basically walking into our living room, the amount of love you get from us is probably why people come back so often. I hate sommeliers that are so pretentious about it, for me, it’s about having fun with wine.” 

Without a doubt, Magnum is also about changing the way people think about natural wine. The category has developed a reputation for funky or unusual bottles, but natural wine is far broader than that stereotype. There are elegant, refined, mineral-driven and highly structured examples alongside the more experimental styles.

What Makes a Wine Natural?

One of the most common misconceptions about natural wine is that it simply means organic wine. The two are not interchangeable. As he poured from a bottle of Baiser Salé (Salted Kiss) – dry, crisp, mineral-driven tastes – from the Gaillac region, Louizon candidly explained:

“Biodynamic is a type of agriculture, based on the moon cycle, instead of the sun cycle, with very low intervention in the vines. Natural wine is a philosophy behind the juice, and what we make with what happened in the vineyards.”

In other words, biodynamic is what’s happening in the vineyards, while natural comes with how wine is made after the grapes have been harvested. Natural wine goes further into the cellar, focusing on minimal intervention during fermentation and production. Many natural winemakers use native yeasts and avoid or minimize additives such as sulfur, although practices vary considerably from producer to producer.

France introduced the voluntary Vin Méthode Nature designation in 2020, providing a framework for wines that meet specific criteria around farming and winemaking.

For Louizon, however, the appeal of natural wine goes beyond technical definitions. It is about the story behind the bottle: the vineyard, the producer, the vintage and the decisions made throughout the winemaking process.

“There’s a strong feeling of purity and the feeling of terroir, and the geology behind the wine. The hand of the winemaker making it is also super important,” he said. 

Why Paris?

Paris has long had a special relationship with wine, but the natural wine movement has created an entirely different kind of wine culture in the city.

Rather than being reserved for formal restaurants or traditional wine merchants, wine has increasingly become part of a more casual social experience. A bottle can be shared over dinner, opened at a neighborhood bar or discovered spontaneously while exploring the city. According to Louizon,

“Wine is made for everyone, it should be. We get a lot of tourists, which I love. My favorite customers are the ones that come and say, ‘I hate natural wine, change my mind!’ This is a fun challenge. I’m not here to teach them, I’m here to connect with them to the wine that they’re drinking.” 

The Marais is particularly suited to this evolution. Its combination of restaurants, bars, galleries, boutiques and independent businesses makes it one of Paris’s most dynamic neighborhoods—and Magnum fits naturally into that landscape.

More Than a Glass of Wine

Natural wine encourages curiosity. A bottle might not taste exactly as expected, and that is precisely what makes opening it interesting. Instead of looking for consistency above all else, natural winemaking often embraces variation and individuality.

That idea also changes the role of the wine bar. The person behind the cellar is not simply serving drinks but helping guests navigate an enormous world of producers, regions, grapes and winemaking philosophies.

For travelers visiting Paris, Magnum offers an opportunity to experience a side of French wine culture that feels distinctly contemporary. It is connected to France’s centuries-old wine traditions while simultaneously questioning some of the conventions that have defined them. As Louizon implied,

“Natural wine has been around forever, my grandparents drank them, they just weren’t called natural wine. Part of the comeback now is due to the fact that people are looking for new flavors and new aromas.” 

Perhaps that is the most interesting component to natural wine: it doesn’t ask to forget the traditions of French wine. It asks to look at them differently.