The Wineparty
(Manfred Klimek / animated pic: Runwayml) Updated: 12.3.2026 Many are saying now: “We should have known”. As so often. But should we have known? That behind the hype surrounding the Copenhagen restaurant Noma – and the larger-than-life chef René Redzepi of ten years ago – there was also naked violence lurking? For years, the restaurant was regarded as Read the full article…
(Gerhard Ziegler) Success sometimes makes people modest. Irakli Chkhaidze is a successful man – and modest, almost exaggeratedly reserved. He does not speak like someone who wants to illuminate his own story, but like someone who would rather talk about structures, markets, taste and movement. That also suits 8000 Vintages, his company, which also brings Georgian wines to Berlin Read the full article…
(Claude Auguste / Photo: Messe Düsseldorf / animated pic: runwayml) There is a strange reflex in the world of wine: as soon as something comes under pressure, people begin rehearsing its requiem. This applies to grape varieties, to regions – and now also to fairs. For some time now, I have repeatedly heard this tone when the Read the full article…
(Manfred Klimek / WELT am SONNTAG) I am Austrian. I am Viennese. And I am the only Viennese and Austrian who cannot ski. And never wanted to learn. In the eternal dispute between mountains and sea, I am a man of the sea. That is why I am rarely in the Alps. This time, after years, I was Read the full article…
(Manfred Klimek) There are generally two things that define great winemakers. First: their wines. Second: their influence on the country’s winegrowing. Anton Kollwentz, the winemaker with the hat, fulfilled both. This made not only his wines into icons, but also him himself, that ever-friendly, warm, clever old man whom I knew from my youth Read the full article…
(Manfred Klimek / Research: Ben Siegert / Photo: Tomb of the poet Hafez / animated pic: Runwayml) Iran and wine – this is not a footnote to history, but its beginning. Long before Bordeaux had prestige or Burgundy knew parcels, what nature provided was already being fermented in the Zagros Mountains. Archaeological finds show that in north-western Iran, around Read the full article…
(Claude Auguste / Manfred Klimek – Editorial / animated pic: Runwayml) We can reproach the young people we once were ourselves. That they drink less wine – for example. That they would rather drink Aperol, hard seltzer or remain entirely alcohol-free – or prefer cannabis and MDMA to wine. That they post labels, but do not Read the full article…
(Manfred Klimek / animated pic: Runwayml) You have to savour this process: Rieslings that have been sent out into the world as Brauneberger Juffer for decades – indeed, for generations – are suddenly to be labelled Maring-Noviander Juffer from the 2026 vintage onwards. To avoid misleading consumers, it is said. I gather this from Read the full article…
(Manfred Klimek / animated pic: Runwayml) On 23 February, three days ago, insolvency proceedings were opened against the assets of Domaines Kilger GmbH & Co KG at the Graz Regional Court. The sober figures are drastic: a loss of 26.67 million euros is reported for 2024, liabilities stand at over 80 million, and equity is significantly Read the full article…
(Manfred Klimek / Claude Auguste / Editorial / Source: CNN / animated pic (©VOS): Runwayml) When Donald Trump announced last year that he would raise effective US tariff rates to a level not seen since 1930, much of the American economy remained remarkably silent. The risk of openly opposing the president seemed too great Read the full article…
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