Ramblin’ Man

May 21st, 2024

I wasn’t born a ramblin’ man, in fact I was (to my memory) a rather quiet child, but if you give me the right forum to ramble about wine and wine related things, I’ll certainly do it. While seeking inspiration for this week’s column it almost feels like the last few weeks have provided too much inspiration to focus on any one thing.

At the beginning of May Constantin Richter, 10th generation scion of the family behind Weingut Max Ferd. Richter came and presented some world class Riesling that reminded me why his family’s winery is one of my favorites. Their winery located in Germany’s Mosel truly expresses what one grape can do from multiple vineyard sites, because we tasted 8 Rieslings and they all tasted noticeably different. Plus the stuff just tastes so darn good!

Constantin was a humble, self deprecating, sort of fellow that assured us that Germans don’t tell jokes, but they certainly are still funny even if that is the case. Despite his young 37 years, he’s been heading up the winemaking for the last 12, reminding me how little it is that I actually know how to do. If I ever get the chance to host him again for a tasting I absolutely will, I would certainly implore you to attend.

A couple days after that, friend of the store, and absurdly knowledgeable sake expert, Monica Samuels joined us from the importer Vine Connections to show off this year’s release of unpasteurized sake. I consider myself more knowledgeable than the average bear when it comes to sake, but just when you think you get to know something about something, someone comes along who shows how little you know.

One of the reasons I get excited for this visit every year is that the unpasteurized, or “namazake,” that we feature only comes out once a year. Japan is a country that is said to have 72 microseasons (give or take) because, and I quote, “four is for chumps.” Which is a more or less direct line from the 11th century Japanese novel ‘Tale of the Genji.’ Making sake can be as seasonal as wine, and I would argue more labor intensive, so when we get to taste these unique, seasonal brews I have so much respect for the people and the work it takes to make them.

Then, not but a week after that, Mollie Battenhouse, Master of Wine, joined us to lead us through a lineup of wine from Oregon. As you may have gathered, I only buy the imported wine for the store, so I’m certainly willing to admit that the wines of these United States are a blind spot of mine. So it was rather refreshing to get a sense of what the viticultural practices, and challenges, are in that part of the world. Another fine occasion to remind me what little I know.

Of course after this lineup of tastings in the first couple weeks of May we had a bit of a break, right? Perish the thought. I took Jr. on a little road trip for Mother’s Day just to make it back in time for David de la Fuenta to present an excellent lineup of wines from Bodegas Muga a week after Mollie’s visit.

David’s visit was a great bookend to the initial visit by Constantin Richter. Constantin showed Riesling from different vineyards, David showed Tempranillo from different sites as well. Much like Riesling is one of the most age-worthy white wines in the world, Tempranillo is certainly one of the sturdiest red wines for aging. Rioja is a dynamic wine region that hasn’t quite established itself in the Bordeaux or Burgundy model of wine making, but man are they doing a lot of things right.

Without going into pedantic detail per event, I simply must say that I feel very fortunate to both have the opportunity to meet people like this as well as so much support from everyone who attended each tasting event. And if you couldn’t make it, no worries, we’ll keep planning these events as long as everyone wants to keep drinking wine.

-Joe Buchter, Import Wine Buyer