Working week in Germany Part 1

I spent all of last week in Germany with a tight and full schedule. On the 20th June I flew to Duesseldorf and arrived at my base close to Siegen in the afternoon. A week before that, I had sent a pallet of mixed wines from Greece to Germany (one pallet carries roughly 600 bottles), a total of 30 labels from 10 different winemakers. I needed quite a few hours on Saturday and Sunday to group some of the wines into different parcels, deciding where to show which wines.

Monday morning I made my way to Montabaur, an hours drive by car, to catch the ICE train to Munich. The train ride was quite pleasant and I used the 4 hours to prepare myself for the week. My appointment was with a wine merchant at a very central location in Munich. It is so important to meet face to face - it is the only way to really learn what personalised services one might be able to offer. After about 45 minutes I left some samples and made my way back to the Hauptbahnhof (central railway station) with suggestions and comments received. I waited a couple of hours before taking the ICE back to Montabaur, arriving at my base at 12:30 pm. I worked for another hour on the PC before hitting the bed.

The next morning I took a two and a half hours drive to Kempen to meet with a potential client. The meeting went very well, again I left my samples there. Usually I try and taste the wines with the customer, in order to guide through. But Monday and Tuesday were exceptions, as both times the time schedule did not allow for this. I drove back in the afternoon and arrived in Siegen in the early evening. Samples had to be selected and packed for the next 3 days. The boot of my car was full with wines by the time I was finished.

World famous oenologist explores co-operation with Alpha Estate

Eric Boissenot, one of the most famous oenologists of the winemaking world, was recently invited at the Alpha Estate in Amyndeo, Greece, by the vineyard's oenologist Angelos Iatridis.

Eric Boissenot maintains his wine laboratory in the region of Pauillac, Bordeaux. He has many high-class co-operations, amongst others with Chateau Lafite, Chateau Latour, Chateau Margaux, Chateau Palmer, Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou, Chateau Gazin, and Chile's Concha Y Toro.

He is a low profile oenologist whose wine philosophy is primarily based on the accentuation of the terroir elements. The friendship between the two colleagues, Iatrides and Boissenot, dates back to the time when they both studied at the faculty of oenology at the University of Bordeaux. Their relationship now seems poised to become one of a professional nature from the next harvesting season. As a first reaction, Eric Boissenot was positively surprised by the evaluation of the property's ground and climatic elements; the wineries wine production processes and infrastructure. He stated that he views his involvement in the wine production at the Alpha Estate as a challenge.

This is just another sign that the quality of some Greek wines has skyrocketed in the last few years. It also shows that the people responsible for this success do not rest, but push further to keep this important process going on.