Name: Mr. Stefan Weise
Nationality: German –
Founder: Weise.Wein
Facebook: click
Please tell us a little bit about your first encounter with wine & the wine industry. Did you have any particular mentors?
As a mentor, I would like to mention Martin Kucher,he was the person, who sparked my passion for wine in 1995. Martin is a real ‘wine freak’ with one of the largest wine lists in Rhineland-Pfalz in his small boutique hotel in the Eifel region in Germany.
Every evening Martin opened a bottle of wine, and we tasted, whithou knowing what it was excatly. We talked trough, what we felt, what we though. I did not have any knowledge around this time, so i just tasted how it was, blind. Of course later Martin explained, where the wine came from, what it was, how was it made.
It happened one time, we got a white wine to try and he asked us, what did we think about the age of the wine. The wine was fresh, elegant, deep, round very komplex. We guessed all…3,4,7,8 years…he showed the bottle…it was 25 years old risling from Mosel…. Older than me around this time. 🙂 It was for me a magic in bottle. I fall in love right away with risling.
This was a reason later, I decided to buy a small vineyard at Mosel, and make my own Risling.
But it is not just always mentors who shape you. I've always been inspired by winemakers. For example, Nicolas Joly, or Heike and Gernot Heinrich. Pioneers in biodynamic winemaking. They belived already in their vision, when the world was not even ready to take a change.
What specific traits or skills should a Sommelier possess for professional performance, and is there any person with those qualities you especially admire within the wine industry?
Even if it sounds cliché, I think the person definitely should have a passion, because everything else is learnable.
One more skill is very important, the communication. You can have the best knowledge and tasting skills, if you can not communicate with the guests. You have to ask the right question,
what is not always easy.As a person, I would like to mention Jancis Robinson. If you listen her to talk about wine, is easy to understand but professionell and passionate.
What would be your advice to a young Sommelier(e)? How to find a good position at home or abroad? Any further tips?
My advice would be: find a business ( restaurant, wine bar, wine shop) where is a person, you think has a good knowledge about wine and try to work with this person, so you can learn and listen, taste, improve in your skills. Wine is a big topic, and a never ending story to learn, so just start somewhere and everything else will come. It is also important to get to know the producers. Travel to the wine regions and visit the winemakers. Winemakers are extremely open to young talents. When I was young, I never received a rejection from a winery, no matter how renowned it was.
When a customer asks for advice on selecting wine, what, in your opinion, would be the best approach?
Listen carefully, what the guest wish. As a sommelier our target is, to find the perfect choice for the guest on that day on that dinner or any other occasion. We should use our experience, knowledge to guide the guest to the right wine. I personally, I like to offer something from the winecard, instead of serving wine pairing.It is also interesting, but more difficult challange is
to choose one what has complexity to follow trough the all dinner.
What is your philosophy about glasses? Are you working with well-known brands or are you considering new brands as well? How do you decide?
I used to match the right glass for every wine. But I changed my mind in a last couple of years. I think, a few glass types are enough to present everything. Champagne, Burgundy, Bordeaux, Universal – done! And maybe a glass for sweet wine, which can also be used for digestifs. A series that I am very enthusiastic about are from Czechia. The brand name is 20:22. They
are not so famous /yet ;)/, but very good quality. I particularly like the lightness and the feel in mouth.
What advice would you give people on pairing wine with food?
You should definitely taste as much as possible. And sometimes "thinking out of the box". It does not always have to be wine or cider. Sake or beer could be also used as a pairing, or in certain occasion G&T . Why not? It is important for the sommeliers to taste the food. If the dish with its sauces is unknown to you, it will be difficult to find the right wine. Often, ideas comes, when you taste the dish. Because you find a certain aroma in both, in wine and in the dish.
Should a Sommelier:ère taste the guest’s wine?
Absolutely! Since the wine is often unknown to the guests, the sommelier can recognise the potential faults. At the long aging wines it could be also important, so we see how they are developing, andnext time the sommelier could explain better the vintage character. Between us, this is one of the best part our job, to get to knwo the wines trougt tasting them.
It is also important to see the current status of development of the wine. I mean it is good to know, for example at aged bordeaux wines, how the wines are developing, so next time you can recommened them better.
What are the key ingredients for creating a wine list for a restaurant, and what is your opinion on pricing wine in restaurants? Do you have tips on how to determine markups?
A well-crafted wine list balances variety, quality and presentation, of course match with the style of the cuisine of the restaurant. It is also important to provide a different price category products. With regarding to costing, I prefere contribution margins. In this way, it could be sell more often a higher price wine.
How do you manage to stay on top of the changes in the wine industry?
I attend lots of wine events and trade fairs every year. Often I combine my holidays with visiting wineregions and winemakers. It is my passion. /..and of course , you would find in my bathroom always the newest wine magazines 🙂 /
How would a new vineyard get its wine noticed, and what is the best way for producers to improve their chances of being listed?
I can talk about my own experience. When I started my own wine production, I visited myself a restaurants in the area and presented the product. I took part on wine fairs and wine events. Nowadays I would definitley use social media also.
If you were a wine, which variety would you be, and why?
I would be definitely a Riesling. This grape variety could be so komplex and has so much potential. (and this lighted up my
intense passion also at the beginning) You can enjoy young, but aged as well. It could be vinified as a dry, medium dry or sweet as well. Risling is a wine, what you would open, just „to sip“ at home. Or enjoy a vintage one with your friends at the restaurant for a special events.
Which top 3 types of wine (your faves would we find in your home wine collection, and what’s your desert island wine?
Riesling, Chardonnay and Nebbiolo! Of course, there are many other wines in my private wine cellar. I am a big fan of South Africa. Last year, I was particularly impressed by the wines of Nico Grobler, from La Brune in the Elgin Valley. The region is otherwise only known for its apples. Burgundies for little money. But I am also very impressed by the northern Rhône. At
my home selection I try to choose mainly an "elegant" style wines, because they are my favorite. On the island I would enjoy from Austria a Grabenwerkstatt the Riesling Trenning, because no words need. Just enjoy!
Any interesting suggestions about magazines or online platforms?
I regularly read Chandra Kurt's Weinseller Journal and Ralf Frenzel's FINE Magazine. I consider both publishers to be major figures in the world of wine. Of course, standard publications such as Decanter are also part of my portfolio.
Regards,
Stefan
⚜️Why Working Abroad as a Sommelier:ère Could Be a Game Changer: click
⚜️Looking to hire a professional Sommelier:ères? Zeitgeist connects top talent with premium hospitality employers worldwide. Post a job
⚜️Looking for the perfect wine list? Feel free to go to the link
*****
Dominik Kozlik e.U.
78/12 Gruberstr.
4020 Linz, Austria