Not only have I been on the road for a good two weeks, but I’ve also been away from Berlin for two full months, much of that time traveling at speed or with a dense schedule. So maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise that I’ve experienced some kind of cool burn-out here in Monterey/CA. Mostly it was foggy, but today the sun shone on the sea with all its might and my mind drifted in the special way it does when I’m burnt out in this way. Time to look back and take stock of what the last months have brought. Firstly, although I’m not finished with my research of the New Rieslings of North America I’ve got a long way with this work and discovered some amazing wines I had no idea existed, most notably in British Columbia/Canada. I also met many winemakers with a longstanding commitment to the grape variety who had raised the bar very substantially since I last encountered them, like Ted Bennet of Navarro Vineyards in Mendocino/CA. To read more about this all you need to do is scroll down and retrace my steps as I circled this continent. Nothing I’ve done is in itself remarkable, and I’m sure that many of you know about many of the winemakers I’ve visited and the wines I’ve tasted. The sum of them does seem to be more than the parts though and finally makes me feel really confident about the section of my forthcoming book which report on the New Riesling of North American. Not only are there enough exciting wines to fill those pages, there are enough stories of daring and dedication to make this an exciting story. In many places those stories also add up to the rebuilding and reinterpretation of the Riesling tradition that was lost decades ago, whereas in others it’s a genuinely new and dynamic development. Everywhere this process still has some way to run before all the potential is realized and a peak is reached. Following developments like these is what has maintained my excitement for wine alive for more than 30 years. All things will change!
PS Don’t forget the Long Night of German Wine on Thursday, July 25th in New York. Click on the link below for more information:
Long Night of German Wines invite 2013
