The current Weinverstand Letter

of February 12th, 2010, 6 USD

⇒ to the Weinverstand Letter

Table of contents:

Von Winning estate: Palatinate Riesling with "minimal winemaking" and oak

Some remarks about...
Riccardo Cotarella
Ulrich Sautter’s column on the belief in the unconditional superiority of the technological

Re-Tasted: Bürgerspital Würzburg
Robert Haller is making changes at the renowned Würzburg charity.
− and: an exclusive recommendation for readers of the Weinverstand Letter

Short notices:
+++ Rodenstock vs. STERN +++ Bordeaux 2009 +++ Bischöfliche Güter Trier +++

Dear reader,

the world of media is changing, and with it wine writing and its forms. Some things, however, remain the same: When I put up www.weinverstand.de in spring 2000 as what was, at the time, one of the first wine publications on the German internet, I named independence, transparency, and fairness as the cornerstones of my labour. Amongst the requirements of fairness, I counted the announcement that wine writing cannot forever been financed by self-exploitation (www.weinverstand.de/archiv/alte_seiten/unabhaengigkeit.html, only in German, however.)

There is not much to add to what I wrote back then. The print media crisis, however, is putting the question of how independent wine writing can be financed anew − and with new emphasis. "Wein Gourmet", the German review I was editor for until its discontinuation in spring 2009, was the attempt at raising advertising money from business without direct relation to wine (banks, cars, luxury goods). The well-known economic environment has destroyed this vision.

I remain wine editor for "Der Feinschmecker", Germany’s leading magazine for wine, food, and travel. At "Der Feinschmecker", luckily, wine is an important part in the mix. Still, for the most passionate of wine lovers, there is a gap − in particular, where they are in search of wine information that is more detailed and more highly specialised than what magazines with a broad readership can offer.

This is the reason why weinverstand.de is now starting its second phase of life, as a pay content service, offered both in German and in English. I’m asking you, dear readers, for your financial contribution to this most specialised, precisely-focussed part of my work.

There are two well-established and reliable pay-services at your disposal. After payment, you may download the "Weinverstand letter" as a pdf-file. Please find the table of contents of the recent letter on the left hand side.

I am asking you for your good faith, and I am looking forward to your feedback, your agreement and your critique.

With my best wishes,