Jean-Louis Chave cover story by Andrei Kovalev: the river winds past a town below vineyard hills.

Jean-Louis Chave

In September 2019, Wine Spectator sent me to the Northern Rhône to photograph the legendary French winemaker Jean-Louis Chave for the cover of its November issue.

Jean-Louis Chave, arms crossed against a weathered wall, on the November 2019 cover of Wine Spectator.

Jean-Louis Chave, arms crossed against a weathered wall, on the November 2019 cover of Wine Spectator.

I shot the cover in the Chave family’s old wine cellar.

Jean-Louis Chave walks up a steep vineyard high above the river and the town.

Jean-Louis Chave and his father taste white wine by a window, two bottles between them.

Jean-Louis Chave walks up a steep vineyard high above the river and the town.

Jean-Louis Chave and his father taste white wine by a window, two bottles between them.

Jean-Louis is a humble, hard-working man, and so is his father. The two still work together.

Jean-Louis Chave sits on a wall of stacked red grape crates.

Jean-Louis Chave, arms crossed, leans on the mottled wall of the old cellar.

Jean-Louis Chave stands on a rocky outcrop above the valley, hands behind his back.

Jean-Louis Chave sits on a wall of stacked red grape crates.

Jean-Louis Chave, arms crossed, leans on the mottled wall of the old cellar.

Jean-Louis Chave stands on a rocky outcrop above the valley, hands behind his back.

Hands pick a bunch of dark grapes from a vine tied to a wooden stake.

Hands pick a bunch of dark grapes from a vine tied to a wooden stake.

I had a few guidelines, but also a huge amount of creative freedom to decide on the spot what to capture. I spent a few days with the Chaves and tried many different options.

A rocky crag and wooded slopes above the river plain.

Jean-Louis Chave at the wheel of a car in warm evening light.

Jean-Louis Chave walks through tall grass on a hillside above the valley.

A rocky crag and wooded slopes above the river plain.

Jean-Louis Chave at the wheel of a car in warm evening light.

Jean-Louis Chave walks through tall grass on a hillside above the valley.

The family was the other big focus of the assignment.

The Chave family together by a concrete wall at home, their dog at their feet.

Jean-Louis Chave sits against a concrete wall, a woman in black leaning on his chair.

An older man carves a roast in the family kitchen as a woman looks on.

A boy stands and a girl sits on a chair against a concrete wall.

Jean-Louis Chave and a woman sit on a garden bench with glasses of red wine.

An older couple by a concrete wall, the woman seated, the man standing beside her.

Jean-Louis Chave smiles across a table at a woman, both holding red wine.

The Chave family together by a concrete wall at home, their dog at their feet.

Jean-Louis Chave sits against a concrete wall, a woman in black leaning on his chair.

An older man carves a roast in the family kitchen as a woman looks on.

A boy stands and a girl sits on a chair against a concrete wall.

Jean-Louis Chave and a woman sit on a garden bench with glasses of red wine.

An older couple by a concrete wall, the woman seated, the man standing beside her.

Jean-Louis Chave smiles across a table at a woman, both holding red wine.

Production crew

Photo editor: Alex de Toth · Producer: Polina Efremenko · Assistant: Olesya Popova · With great help from Erin Cannon-Chave and the whole family

Jean-Louis Chave, seen from behind, looks out over the river and the town at dusk.

Jean-Louis Chave, seen from behind, looks out over the river and the town at dusk.

More of my work with winemakers and wine magazines →