Nearly thirty years ago, I stumbled into the wine business, more or less by accident, because my primary profession, that of writing poetry, did not provide much of an income. (And believe me, it still doesn't!) I needed a job with defined hours so I could do graduate work, thinking I might become a teacher. At the time, I was working as a mediocre carpenter across the street from the old Wine and Cheese Center down on Jackson Street in San Francisco. I used to get my sandwiches there, and occasionally buy a bottle of wine. One day I walked into the store and, thinking the wine business might be a pleasant change, not to mention solve the problem of fixed hours for classes, asked for a job. Somewhat to my astonishment, I got it, but only because the owner was an ex-English teacher and, somewhere in the interview, got to discussing favorite writers. At first, I sold cheese, but gradually worked my way into the wine department and, under the excellent tutelage of Mel Knox and Jim Olsen (both of whom some of you may know) began learning about wine. (I still remember some of the first lessons - Mel handing me a glass of something white and asking me what it smelled like - anything was fair game. I stumbled around, finally blurting out 'peppermint', and Mel said 'Fine. Now remember that and, if you smell it again, you'll have a place to start from.' And so on. In time, after the degree and various trips to Europe, including a year in Greece, I became something of an expert in French wines, especially in Burgundy. I still think retail is the best teacher, because you must learn about, and consequently taste, everything.

After a year in Vermont, I came back to the Bay Area and worked for twelve years at The Pacific Wine Company. For a time the owner didn't particularly relish traveling, which thus allowed me to go back to Europe. I traveled extensively, first in France, then Italy, and finally Germany, in order to learn, and then to buy.

I came to German wine both early and late. In the early days, when '71s and '76s were both plentiful and cheap, they were popular and well worth learning about. But soon, the wines went out of fashion and my attention wandered. My interest was re-kindled by a love for German literature and music, especially Lied and Opera. I began studying the language and spent more time in Germany. My wife had lived in Bonn for seven years while getting her Ph.D. in Art History, and she still has many friends there. One year, about twelve years ago, I believe, I arrived at Mr. Dönnhoff's door, meeting, not only him and his wife, Gaby, but also Terry Theise, who, by coincidence was also visiting. We all became fast friends and Terry and I traveled together every year since (until this year - see below). So it is a place I feel fairly at home in, and one whose wines I now believe carry the most subtle and satisfying flavors in the world.

When Pacific Wine Company closed about ten years ago, I made a decision to invent a way of staying in the wine world but bending it to my particular needs, and what I felt were the needs of consumers. German wine, (and then, soon, Austrian Wine) needs articulate advocates. There can never be large-scale marketing projects associated with it, because there is so little wine. Add to that the innumerable cuvées, fuders, A P Numbers, and that the best wine is all hand-crafted, and it becomes a marketer's nightmare. Which is perfect for me.

And thus I began a private business devoted almost exclusively to first German and then, after a year or two, Austrian wines, one in which my relationship to the estates and clients would be strictly personal and service-oriented. I make most of my selections in Germany and Austria on my yearly trips and look for wines that convey uniqueness of place and culture. Technical proficiency is presumed but by itself not especially interesting. There are a number of fine estates in Germany with impeccable credentials but, at least for me, they are empty or soulless, and those estates I do not buy. Also, I like to have at least a passing relationship with the people, and preferably a warm one. I remember once speaking with Michael Wild of the excellent restaurant The Bay Wolf, who said there were loads of good wines out there, so he decided to buy only from people he liked. That makes sense to me as well, so I focus more on the people than one might otherwise expect. There are good estates out there whose wines I do not carry. Perhaps I don't know them; perhaps we don't really click together.

Wine is, after all, more than just a nice drink, with food or by itself. It is an integral part of a culture that spread outwards from the Mediterranean over two thousand years ago. It is, in fact, one of the great minor accomplishments of the Western World. And there is always, no matter how distantly, something of the sacred in its use. It is a gift of Dionysus, and in some manner, a part of the ritual of his worship; and though I don't expect that everyone should get ultra serious at this point over what is mostly a delightful and sensual part of life, it is good to remember, if only once in a while, the source. Also, the sensitive wine drinker will understand that drinking a real wine, one that comes from a small estate, and is hand-grown and made, is a way of entering, if only distantly, the culture that made it. Your pleasure in that Niersteiner Spätlese, or Ausbruch, or Kamptal Grüner Veltliner, or Mosel Kabinett, is trebled, at least, by your knowledge of the source. Just ask anyone who has traveled to visit Heidi Schröck, or Willi Schaefer. The wine becomes personal, and precious.

I believe you can taste all of these things, culture, sensibility, a way of life, tradition in the wine. It's like going out in a glass-bottomed boat (do they still have these things? they had them when I was a child in Los Angeles) and you can see down into the depths the myriad creatures and underwater landscape. The wine is the glass.

This year, for a variety of reasons, I decided to do my German and Austrian trip without Terry (I miss being with him, especially as that time in Europe was when I actually had a chance to see him; it's rare otherwise), but instead bring along a few customers and visit only people I wanted to see. For I have long had my own relationships with many of the estates, and it was time this bird flew on his own wings. Also, it would be a chance for a few of my clients to see first hand that all my hyperbole was actually true, and if anything, understated. It worked, wonderfully, and I will continue doing it. Please contact me for more information.

I have now been working independently for just over ten years. The Age of Riesling remains a unique business. My inventory now consists of almost exclusively German and Austrian wines, along with about 15 or so small estates in Champagne, whose wines are made in the individual manner of my other estates. Also, an occasional wine from elsewhere will creep in, due entirely to the admiration and affection I have for the estate. I am happy to put together selections of different wines for those of you who may be somewhat bewildered by the vastness of the selection. Many of my clients insist that I do so. In that manner, I will learn more about your individual taste, which will help for the future. There is no minimum or maximum sale - they have ranged thus far from less than $10.00 to almost $40,000.00. I am also pleased to do tastings at your home or a place of your choosing. I do several in Los Angeles every year as well as locally. Please feel free to contact me with any questions you might have.