Natty Chatties

Holly Berrigan & Nic Jansson, Co-Founders Of MYSA

About Holly & Nic

Holly Berrigan is the founder of MYSA Natural Wine. As a serial entrepreneur and current sustainable agriculture student, she's built a platform focused on sustainable consumption through partnerships with organizations like 1% for the Planet and The Carbon Fund. She has a WSET Level 3 certification with Distinction, is a member of Slow Food USA and writer for the Porto Protocol, as well as a student in Sustainable Agriculture at the University of Massachusetts Stockbridge.

Nic Jansson is the co-founder of MYSA Natural Wine. With a strong background in digital marketing, branding, and eCommerce, he’s the one that took what was initially an importing company and created MYSA as it stands today. Aside from the marketing world, Nic also comes from a restaurant background, and found natural wine as a convert from craft beer and coffee.

 The CHat

Could you recall your very first sip of natural wine (or the first one that mattered)? Take us through that memory.

Holly: The first one that mattered was when I was in Berlin visiting a friend and we went to a natural wine bar. This was about 6 months before I started my import company and knew nothing about the category yet, but someone at the bar suggested a bottle of Tschida and I remember taking a photo of the bottle and saying “god I hope this isn’t imported in the US, this is unreal and I have to get it!” It of course is, and he’s a huge name, but naive early natural wine days Holly was so moved by that bottle it was one of the reasons I decided to focus solely on those wines.

Nic: Oh man. I started getting really interested in wine generally when I was living in Providence, RI. The food scene there is amazing and it really drove me to want to explore the beverage world outside of my coffee/beer bubble. For a couple years I was really into the classic stuff. When Holly and I met we were living down the street from the Wine Bottega, an awesome natty-only shop in the North End. We started exploring those wines together, but my first “WOW” moment was a bottle of the Vini di Giovanni Ciliegiozzo rosé pét-nat we had at a restaurant in Boston. That was one of the first times that I was like “I must have more of this now”. It was totally sold out all over the city, but it did lead me into learning more about various importers, distributors, and shops in the area that were focused on the low-intervention game.

Please complete this very romantic valentine to wine: Roses are red, violets are blue, _____.

Holly: I like my wine natty, I hope you do too!

Nic: Skin contact is orange, WYD?

MYSA is fantastic at pairing wines with certain situations, like "party time" or "nerding out." What bottle would you pair to save a family reunion picnic featuring deli subs, a Costco sheet cake, Paul Simon's entire discography, and devastating awkwardness that knows no bounds?

Holly: First of all, this is hilarious and absolutely going to happen to a lot of people this year, most likely to me at this retirement party we’re throwing for several people in my family in a few months! I’d probably go with a piquette. The low ABV makes it so no one is getting sloppy in front of Grammie, the flavor profile is perfect for sandwiches, and even if they’re overly chilled they taste great. Also, you can get a lot of them in cans, so that’s even better! I can’t say they’ll complement the sheet cake, though if you get a sparkling like You Are My Sunshine, that might help?

Nic: LOL. A bottle of Rodney Strong for my parents, and a magnum of something really weird for everyone else that we could spend most of the time talking about.

Where's the next wine-growing region you plan to visit once it's safe to do so, and why is it probably not Long Island?

Holly: Vermont is the closest one for us and we LOVE what they’re doing up there! Hybrid grapes, co-ferments with ciders, it’s amazing stuff and I think we’ll continue to see great producers coming from there in the next few years.

Nic: I’m extremely interested in lesser known/up and coming wine regions like Japan or British Columbia. Japan is a big country, and I honestly don’t even know enough about the regions to pick a particular place in Japan. Also, I’d love to learn more about Sake, as I know there are many small-scale farmers making Sake just like they are wine. There are a lot of similarities there and it’s something that, especially having never been to Japan, I would love to do. Also I like food and the food there seems incredible.

Imagine that someone runs up to you in a fluster and says, "I've never had a bottle of natural wine or consequently, felt pure joy in my entire life. Help me, Holly and Nic!" What's the most ideal three-bottle starter pack for that sorry soul?

Holly: We actually have a starter pack for this exact thing and while the wines sometimes change, the styles I pick never do! We start with a glou glou red (normally it’s Glou Glou from Las Jaras, as it’s a middle of the road Cali wine that people can definitely get into). Second I put in an orange wine, typically lighter extraction and not too funky. Finally, I put in a pét-nat, as that’s a really important part of the natural wine category and who doesn’t want some more bubbles in their life?

Nic: Easy Affordable Starter Kit: Las Jaras Glou Glou, Cacique Maravila Vino Naranja, Wild Arc Farm Piquette. Blow Your Mind Starter Kit ($$$): Gabrio Bini Zibibbo, Domaine de l’Octavin Commendatore, Les Vins Pirouettes Pet Nat d’Eric.

Your business is committed to sustainability - in your opinion, what's the best way to recycle an empty wine bottle (aside from using it as a flower vase)?

Holly: I have a long-term dream to turn mine into soy candles. I got a book about it for Christmas and love them so someday when I have time for another hobby that is my goal! In the meantime, I just ensure that they’re properly prepped for regular recycling.

Nic: Clean it, save it, make your own wine (or other fermented beverage) and reuse it!

If a lemony-tart pét-nat and a juicy, cloudy red blend engaged in a rap battle, who would throw down sicker beats?

Holly: As a rap battle novice I’d say that the pét-nat will be more likely to pop off, so it’ll have my vote.

Nic: If the pét-nat isn’t disgorged it wins easily. Explosive!