Abstract and Summary
There is so much PASSION for Riesling all
over the world, yet professional reviews and reporting on this
marvellous grape seem to be lacking in attention compared to many other
grapes and regions. To the point, I would argue, where most reporting
(and hence knowledge and impressions) on Riesling actually comes from
passionate consumers, more so than from professional wine publications.
Realising I could play a small part to spread the passion for Riesling, and in no small part through the nagging from many winemakers that I should give it a try, I
decided to start little hobby project. By sharing
thoughts and impressions on Riesling, not as a competition with the
professionals, but as a complement to already established sources of
information. The objective being to increase awareness and information
about this wonderful grape and the wines derived from it. Hence, The Riesling Report.
Introduction
Finding
myself between jobs, got me thinking. About Riesling. From
many different aspects. How this wonderful grape seems to unite so
many people around the world, in our passion for all things Riesling.
How the established channels of information and knowledge about Riesling
wines look like today. And how current obstacles limit us to have an even
more comprehensive discussion about Riesling worldwide. It struck
me, that I could actually play a small part in making the conversation
about Riesling even more lively. The more, the merrier,
as they say. It can't hurt to add an additional source of impressions
from the Riesling world. And I'm not talking about the occasional tasting
note posted on social media or wine forums, but a more regular
contribution to the passion, discussion and impressions related to
Riesling.
Background
Does it work? I mean, is it even possible to
start a publication or anything similar like it, in the form of a
written text that will actually be read by those who share one's
passion? Frankly, I honestly don't know. But at the end of the day, why
not give it a try? Even at the risk of facing a massive failure in doing
so and becoming the laughing stock among fellow wine lovers. Looking
back, I find inspiration from people like Neal Martin, who started his Wine Journal
and for a time, even had it included within The Wine Advocate. And of
course, being a passionate Barolo nerd, I'm also inspired by how Antonio
Galloni started his Piedmont Report while working full-time with
something completely different and non-wine related. Maybe it was
easier to do something like that before and perhaps it's a matter of
having the backup of massive investors to pull off something similar today, but again, why not just give it a try? After all, I would only do
it if I actually enjoy it myself and as for the result - even if only a
handful of Riesling aficionados out there would find my modest contribution
useful, it would be worth the time and effort.
Thoughts on current state of Riesling reviews
Being
passionate about Riesling and an avid consumer, I've been
contemplating from where I get my own information, aside from the
traditional way I've been adhering to for 20+ years by now (= meaning,
gathering impressions and forming my own opinion by simply travelling to
the wine regions in person, knocking on producers' doors and politely
asking them if it would be possible to taste their wines). If I were to sum
up my sources of professional opinions on Riesling wines I drink on a
regular basis, they form a wide palate. From David Schildknecht's
excellent reviews at Vinous (and back then at TWA), Stephen
Reinhardt at The Wine Advocate, the superb Mosel Fine Wines by my friends Jean and
David, John Gilman's excellent View from the Cellar, occasionally
whoever writes for the Wine Spectator, Stuart Pigott when he is writing
for JamesSuckling.com, Julia Harding writings for JancisRobinson.com,
and Terry Theise, whenever he published his German Catalogue for
Skurnik. They are all very good sources of information for people
passionate about Riesling, in particular German Riesling and in my
opinion, every effort to spread the knowledge and passion about this
lovely grape should be commended. I stress this fact because I don't
wish that the announcement of my hobby project is seen as a negative
complaint but rather be put into context that there is an opportunity to
fill a perceived gap.
Because...I realise that they all
seem to have various inherent flaws and drawbacks, to the point where
I'm actually getting more up-to-date information on state of Riesling
affairs from members on wine forums, especially from the great Riesling
ambassador Robert Dentice and from the folks at RieslingKenner to name a few, than
necessarily from professional reviewers. Wine Spectator never seems to
be out on tour and actually visiting winemakers and hence, in my opinion, by just waiting passively at their office to have producers sending them free samples, are completely
disconnected from the land and the people making the wines. The Jancis Robinson crew seem to form their opinions mostly
from large importer tastings and wine fairs in London, as opposed to
actually visiting the producers (with some exceptions). Jean and David
ARE making the commendable effort to really visit winemakers and are,
to me, an excellent source for the limited (but important) region they
cover. Stephan and Stuart are actually living in Germany and should be
the ones with the best and easiest access to winemakers - and they do visit winemakers in person. And then
we have the American posse, David Schildknecht, John Gilman and Terry Theise, who all suffer from one common
drawback. They all live across the big, blue pond, limiting their
possibilities of visiting Europe on a regular basis. In fact, whenever
they do drop us a visit here in the Old World, it's often in the form of
a single road trip per year, where they try to squeeze in as many
producers as they can in a limited amount of time. This results in
various drawbacks, either that only a limited set of reviews are shared
or in some cases, a prolonged time before their impressions are actually
published. Again, don't get me wrong - even the fact that they are
making an effort should be applauded and if anyone thinks it's a
picnic in the park, I can tell you that it's real, hard work - having
the privilege to follow David Schildknecht a few days while he was working for The Wine Advocate,
I could witness the work put in with my own eyes. Starting early in the
morning, finishing late in the evening and between that driving and
tasting, tasting, tasting.
Niche differentiation - This
mixture of my own sources of information, made me realise that despite
the many professional wine publications out there writing about Riesling, there is still a
gap in the market, a niche if you will, where a passionate Riesling
aficionado like myself could make a contribution, however small or
insignificant. Not as a competition with the existing Big
Dragons, but as a very small but hopefully valuable complement. For
anyone to read or ignore, at their own will, of course! Like the last
sentence of Walt Whitman's poem "O me! O life!" as the answer to the
question about the meaning of life and our existence: "That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse". And as Mr Keating (Robin Williams) asks while looking at his students: "What will your verse be?", my answer is that no matter fail or success, my verse and small contribution will be...The Riesling Report. Focusing mainly on Riesling wines from Germany.
I'm
still in the process of figuring out the exact details but so far, some
core ideas have taken form. To fill that gap where I would occupy a
niche not yet taken by the existing sources of Riesling information, I
will adhere to these principles:
Regular visits -
instead of just doing one big road trip, I intend to travel to Germany
as many times as possible every year, to gather
impressions on Riesling. This will allow me to often share impressions
far earlier than most professional publications.
Only personal visits to wineries - The very core principle of my project is that I will share impressions from almost only personal visits
to the wineries, sitting there with the winemaker in front of me and
tasting wines while asking about the latest development at the estate.
In addition, I will offer impressions from wine events such as Mainzer
Weinbörse, Mythos Mosel, the VDP auctions, etc and clearly indicate
whenever my impressions come from this type of events, given the
limitations of actually tasting the wines properly at this type of huge
gatherings.
No samples accepted - If a wine is
still in barrel and fermenting and the winemaker deems it too early to
taste, I will not accept that any samples be sent later to complement
the initial tasting. I might, however, occasionally revisit an estate to
taste wines that are bottled later. But again, always on site, visits in person. NOT the method I notice seems to be so common nowadays, with wine critics posting photos of arriving pallets loaded with sample bottles from them to taste. For free.