It Takes Two: Eva Fricke and Jenna Fields

By

Kathleen Willcox

•

•

Volume 02, Life in the Bubble •
, ,
Photo credit The German Wine Collection/Markus Bassler

March 25, 2024 Update: Eva Fricke and the German Wine Collection no longer together. Apparently, the tango takes even more complex footwork than either party anticipated. And the frisson of friction is real. In wine, the relationship between importer and producer works better when it’s more tango than transaction. First there is the careful footwork of their own internal negotiations, then a set of fancy steps together for the audience. The goal is to position the new producer within an aesthetic and cultural context that would-be consumers will find attractive. It is a delicate dance that requires surprising intimacy and…

Membership Required

You must be a member to access this content.

View Membership Levels

Already a member? Log in here
Avatar photo

Kathleen Willcox has been writing about the business and culture of wine and food for more years than she’d care to reveal. Her work appears regularly in Wine Enthusiast, Wine Searcher, SevenFifty Daily, The Vintner Project, and many other publications. She co-authored the book "Hudson Valley Wine: A History of Taste & Terroir" (2017).

Similar Posts

Vineyards in the foreground open onto a river banked on two sides by green hills, with blue skies and low peaks in the distance.

Eglisau: Vines of the High Rhine

ByDennis Lapuyade

Every guide to Swiss wine begins with the same emphatic but overly simple premise: there are six wine regions in Switzerland. That means one of them, Deutschschweiz, is forever miscast as a single entity, even though it encompasses 19 cantons and covers two-thirds of the nation’s surface area. Meanwhile, four of the other official regions are single cantons — Geneva, Vaud, Valais, and Ticino — each with its own story to tell; a sixth — the Three Lakes region — is geographically contiguous, linguistically mixed and, while quite small, celebrated for its diversity. Why, I ask, is there so little…...

Membership Required

You must be a member to access this content.

View Membership Levels

Already a member? Log in here
Eight hand drawn wine glasses on colored background in the style of Andy Warhol
·

Varietal Psychology

ByRainer Schäfer

There’s no end to writings about how wine affects people. It begets relaxation and well-being, of course, but also stimulating discussion. The right bottle can be just the spark needed to light up a dull evening. But can certain wines channel our moods and perceptions — our very psychology — in different ways?  This question was often posed by Wolf-Dietrich Salwey, a vintner who passed away in a car accident in 2011. Known for his unconventional character, Salwey routinely invited neighbors, colleagues, and friends to his estate in Oberrotweil in the Kaiserstuhl to explore the influence of specific grape varieties…...

Membership Required

You must be a member to access this content.

View Membership Levels

Already a member? Log in here
Winemaker Christine Pieroth in cellar inspecting a raised glass of red wine in the light
· ·

Christine Pieroth: The Nahe’s Natural Pioneer

ByStephanie Hanel

Piri Naturel is Christine Pieroth's independent  line of natural wines in Germany's Burg Layen. Her wines bring a breath of fresh air to more straightforward Nahe’s wine scene.

Membership Required

You must be a member to access this content.

View Membership Levels

Already a member? Log in here
The New Teachings of Old Field Blends
·

The New Teachings of Old Field Blends

ByNils Kevin Puls

The year is 1806. The date June 17th. Privy Councilor Goethe sits in Frankfurt — high and dry. He reaches for his quill and writes a letter to a friend: “Send me some Würzburger wine, for no other wine satisfies, and I am morose without my accustomed favorite drink.”  While the line may not be poetic, the composition Johann Wolfgang von Goethe thirsted for is. The wine in question was, quite possibly, “Frentsch” (local dialect for Altfränkischer Satz or Old Franconian Mixed Set): a field blend of some 20 grape varieties, all planted, harvested, and fermented together. What once gave growers a bit of…...

Membership Required

You must be a member to access this content.

View Membership Levels

Already a member? Log in here
Cans with a Plan
·

Cans with a Plan

ByValerie Kathawala

Djuce first entered my periphery late last year at the New York City iteration of Karakterre’s natural wine fair. Amid a cheerful invasion of producers from what has winningly been dubbed “the Austro-Hipsterian Empire,” I narrowed my focus to taste at some touchstones of Austrian natural wine — Judith Beck, Zillinger, Heinrich, Meinklang, Nittnaus, Weninger. Hurrying between offerings of electric-amped Grüner Veltliner and ethereal Blaufränkisch, I brushed by a small table stacked with slim, colorful cans and a paper sign that read “Djuce.”  I paused just long enough to register an internal eye roll at what I assumed was the bro-culture spelling and reflexive ecoism of yet…...

Membership Required

You must be a member to access this content.

View Membership Levels

Already a member? Log in here
Eat + TRINK | Where Silvaner Meets the Sea
· ·

Eat + TRINK | Where Silvaner Meets the Sea

ByJérôme Hainz

Confession time: Which wine and food pairings make your eyes roll faster than a teenager’s? Champagne and strawberries? Pizza and Lambrusco? Muscadet and oysters?  In southern Germany, Silvaner and white asparagus are regional marketing 101. Silvaner has been praised and prized as a pairing for the spring stalk to such an extent that grocers will double their inventories of cheap Silvaner and stack it by the case in the vegetable section. And while the fastest way to get a screenful of Internet ill-will slung in your direction is to suggest the pairing to a German wine group, it is true…...

Membership Required

You must be a member to access this content.

View Membership Levels

Already a member? Log in here