The Man from Mosel River

The Mosel river in Trier from “Zur Lauben” side

Finally, my blog is up and running. Thanks to the help of Ms. Vera Jasini Putri from my office, I beat the deadline which I had sat myself earlier. This is my personal blog far away from my professional work. Therefore, it will not deal with liberal democracy and issues related to change management but it will be about wine, my favourite drink, and culture.

Wine and culture are at the heart of many civilisations. They were the determinants of where I come from, the lovely town of Trier in the Mosel river valley with its more than 2000 years of culture of vineyards and wine making. I grew up in this corner of Germany, rich in historical monuments, abound in stories about times gone by, and it’s small town culture at the most western edge of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Wine and culture are also at the centre of the lives of a select few pioneers in the Central Victorian High Country at the Upper Goulburn River in the new world in Australia where the wine industry has become an important engine of growth and rural prosperity during the last couple of decades. It is here where 10 years ago my wife Margit and I established a small vineyard: Two Hills Vineyard in Glenburn, Victoria. And it is here where I will retire someday in the hopefully not too distant future.

Following the example of Banjo Paterson’s famous poem “The man from snowy river“, a ballad praising the resiliance of the rural folk in the High Country of Victoria, I have chosen the title of this blog.

In my home town Trier the Mosel river is the dominating force and feature of the city and the region. Another one are the very steep slopes of the benches where even before Roman times “vitis vinifera” the ordinary grape producing vines were cultivated by the indigenous celtic settlers of the Treverer tribe. Today the town which claims to be Germany’s oldest city is a major tourist destination. Please visit it if not in person at least on the net (www.trier.de).