A Remembrance of German Wines Past

By

Neal Hulkower

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Volume 07, The Literary Edition •
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Handwritten notes in a ring notebook with red cover
Photo credit Neal D. Hulkower

My twenty-something self left two gifts for the older man I would become: a doctorate in applied mathematics and four small, looseleaf notebooks. The degree opened many doors and reinforced my ability to do independent research, perform analyses, and document the results. The notebooks, along with labels from many of the bottles, form an archive of my first decade tasting wine.        Between 1969 and 1979, a period covering my student and early career years, I kept detailed notes on almost everything I tasted. During most of that time, I lived in Evanston, Illinois. It was dry until 1975, necessitating runs…

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Neal D. Hulkower, Ph.D., is an applied mathematician and freelance writer living in McMinnville, Oregon. While he has been writing regularly about wine-related topics since 2009, his first contributions to a wine publication appeared in the early 1970s. His wine writing can be found in academic and popular publications including the Journal of Wine Research, the Journal of Wine Economics, American Wine Society Wine Journal, Oregon Wine Press, Practical Winery & Vineyard, Wine Press Northwest, and The World of Fine Wine and on wine-searcher.com. He focuses on applications of mathematics to the world of wine, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, and reviews of wine-related books. He also enjoys covering wine events and personalities. Neal was a Field Coordinator for Slow Wine 2020 and 2021 guides. He is a member of the Circle of Wine Writers. Neal can occasionally be found pouring some of Oregon’s finest in a tasting room at the top of the Dundee Hills.

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