The Riesling Report - announcing a wicked little hobby project

WINE TALK
21

http://www.therieslingreport.com/

22

I think Miran knew about this, and wasn’t necessarily going to use the exact name.

That being said, this site has been up for 3 years and is still “coming soon”?

23

I’m signed up! I’m excited do you and your adventures. Best of luck Miran!

24

Sorry Paul and Gavin, but…

You can’t sign up or subscribe to my Riesling publication. That link not my page. It’s from an MW that seems to be taking his time to start something. :slight_smile: My Riesling reports will be possible to download from a different page. I have another wicked hobby project of mine starting soon…

[bye2.gif]

25

I was aware of that website because I believe it was active at one time but then ceased operation.

I added the link just to make Miran aware in case there were any issues with rights to the name or even if Miran wanted to use that specific URL.

26

Of course. Not to put words in his mouth, but I think Miran was using “Riesling Report” as a play-on to Galloni’s Piedmont Report.

27

Cool.
I’m not the biggest consumer of riesling out there, but it’s what I cut my teeth on and appreciate a good one. Looking forward to this :slight_smile:

28

Looking forward to this.

29

Thanks for the encouraging words, Jim and Markus! I hope it will worthwhile - but it can also be a fiasco. Time will tell… A question to you both or actually to all - do you have any favourite German producer from whom you would like to have a report on from the 2019 vintage? I can’t promise anything but depending on the logistics, I will try my best.

Also a question to all - more of a technical one - is it still necessary to have photos stored in a place like photobucket to have them published here, or is there a way where you could just upload a photo(file) from your computer? Instead of going through the hassle of having the photos stored at another place simultaneously…

30

Good luck Miran! I was lucky enough to get to know David Schildknecht (sp?) when he was a wholeseller in Cincinnati. Great guy and insanely knowledgeable!

31

http://www.moselfinewines.com/
There is, of course, this too - but with a more laser-like focus to the name…

32

Bill,

My friends David and Jean are absolutely fabulous and an incredible source of information for the area they cover. Highly recommended.

So looks like I’m getting some requests of winemakers to visit - many seem to be asking about Egon Müller - I have sent them an inquiry, so lets hope for the best. I will also try to visit Julian, Hofgut Falkenstein and a bunch of others along the Mosel valley. Robert Dentice is nagging about Ulli Stein, so he will be visited. :slight_smile:) And I will also make my way to some producers in Nahe and Rheinhessen.

But…I will first start with Franconia. How come people so seldom talk about wines from this region? Is it because they are not good enough or because they are simply under the radar for most consumers outside of Germany?

33

You can also visit with Clemens Busch who is also close to Ulli.

I too am excited about Franconia.

34

Good luck, Miran, your irrepressible enthusiasm will serve you well in this project. I don’t think you’ll need helicopters to get it off the ground. I look forward to reading your reports. Especially the winemaker stories.

One question: could you elaborate on what sounds like an aversion to tasting samples? What do you see as the drawbacks? Is it the number of wines/time availability, potential shipping effects, lack of ability to discuss with the winemaker while tasting, something else?

35

Miran, you should rate bottles on a scale from 1 to 4 helicopters.
[wow.gif]

36

All the best Miran, will be looking forward to your post.

37

Let me know if you are staying in Trier, Miran - that’s only or 40 min drive from Luxembourg. And Falkenstein was also on my list to visit - was in contact with Lars Carlberg who works there, but then covid happened.

38

Time for some updates. The Riesling Report will come online soon but I realise that one things is missing… Perhaps I should also consider to actually pay for and create a domaine! And then just quickly edit some type of rudimentary homepage so that those interested in reading my impressions can actually download pdf-files. [blush2.gif] One of the darwa-backs of not being professional with the possibility of working with this full-time, instead of just grabbing a few moments here and there from your normal obligations.

For now, just some quick comments.

Len, couldn’t agree more! David Schildknecht is a class-act. A true gentleman and an incredible source of knowledge. And passion!

Robert, I will try to make it to Clemens as well, since they are so close to Ulli Stein.

David, that’s actually an important objective to me. I’ll try to explain. With “samples” I don’t mean the samples or fassprobe I get to taste when visiting the winemakers early in the season, when the wines are still in tank or barrel. That’s when they just take some wine from the top of the cask, so the wine is at that point still unfiltered and on its lees. Whenever I taste like this, I will clearly indicate it by using a score range in brackets, to emphasize that it’s an unfinished wine. By “samples” I mean finished/bottled wines - I basically don’t want the winemakers to spend any money by sending me bottles of their wines. I’ll come to them and I’ll be happy to taste whatever wine they have already opened or are willing to open because of my personal visit. The reason is part of an ulterior motive I have with The Riesling Report - to show the professional publications, who will argue that this form of work is too expensive and takes too much time, that it CAN be done. If an amateur, who needs to work full-time in a different profession, can do it, certainly the full-time professionals should be able to do it. If I show that it can be done, and if some professional publications copy me by following suite or at least increase their physical presence in the wine region they are covering, then I feel I have ackomplished something. A small change to the better. Only in my opinion, of course.

What I don’t like is the current situation where most winemakers are forced to send samples to various wine critics who just passively are waiting at their office to receive cases and even pallets of wine from all over the region they are supposed to cover. I have seen too many photos that show tables with tens if not hundreds of bottles - how will the winemaker even know in what condition they were tasted for a review? Was the temperature optimal? What type of glass was used? And more importantly - were their wines tasted as a few wines out of 20 different samples that day? Or were they just some of a 100 different wines tasted side by side that day? Palate fatigue is difficult to escape, even with loads of water and bread in-between, so if the wine critic is tasting your wine as number 114, 115 and 116 that same day, they sure won’t get the same impression as tasting fewer wines at the estate. I hope that better explains my stance.

T.K. (what’s your name?), I’m puzzled… Why only 1-4 helicopters? [scratch.gif] Then surely 1 to 5 is better? :slight_smile:

Thanks Alan! And Jozef, I’ll stay all over the place since I will be constantly moving from region to region.

39

I just assumed you slept in Schubertslay?

40

Thanks for explaining your sample philosophy Miran. I’m rooting for your success. I look forward to your reports.