Wine Mythology

January 11, 2007

There are various mythical stories about the god of wine in different cultures. For the Greeks it was Dionysos, for the Romans Bacchus and for the Celtic Treverer in the Mosel river valley it was Sucellus. Sucellus was not the god of the wine consumer as were Bacchus and Dionysos, but the god of the grape and wine producers, the vintner, the cooper, and the winemaker.

The picture below shows this Celtic god as he is usually depicted, with a sledge (or long-shafted hammer), grapes and some barrels. The statue was found in 1976 in a Roman villa near Kinheim in the district of Bernkastel-Kues, 50 km from Trier downriver on the Mosel (www.bernkastel-kues.de). You can see it in a wonderful book by Karl-Josef Gilles with the title “Bacchus and Sucellus” . The book gives a wonderful insight into grape and wine cultivation along the Mosel river during Roman times.

Sucellus

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From the Old to the New World: My Vineyard in Glenburn, Victoria

January 10, 2007

Today I want to take you to a small place in Central Victoria Glenburn, between Yarra Glen and Yea, about one hour northeast of the capital city of Melbourne. From there we drive about 5 km up north and turn right into Two Hills Road, a gravel road which will lead us to our vineyard.

The vineyard
Our vineyard facing north

It’s all grazing land here surrounded by gum forests of the national park. Most residents are retirees; many are weekenders. The vineyard is located on the right hand side on a 50 acres block (about 21 ha). It consists of about 1 ha Sauvignon Blanc (planted in 1996), 1 ha of Pinot Noir (planted in 2002) and 1.3 ha of Merlot (planted in 1997). The rest of the land is grassland with some small patches of gum trees and a small forest. A small river, Katy’s Creek, builds the boundary on one side.

Second Hill

Two Hills Vineyard towards our second dam

In 2001 we had our first vintage. Our Sauvignon Blanc of 2002 even won us a bronze medal at the Singapore Wine Show.The wines are available in Melbourne at the Old England Hotel in Heidelberg (bottle shop; www.oldenglandhotel.com.au), at the Berry Cafe in Dixons Creek (on the way from Yarra Glen to Yea) and in the Alexandra supermarket chain. In Germany my friend Dr Ulrich Hillejan (Gesellschaft fuer Unternehmensentwicklung mbH, www.s-h-r.de) sells our Merlot to other friends and family. At the moment we have only Merlot 2004 for sale. All the other wines have sold out which is of course good news for the producer and bad news for the consumer. 2006 was our most successful year so far. We had a good harvest (after a complete loss in 2005 due to adverse weather conditions), sold all our grapes, and most of our wines. The 2006 vintage of Merlot is ripening in French and American oak and will be bottled in March 2007.
We are selling most of the fruit to other wineries. Living abroad is not very conducive to wine marketing. Another friend, Steve Sadlier of Vineadvice from Yarra Glen, takes care of the vineyard management. He is our viticulturist. Our wines are made by another friend, Alan Johns, owner and winemaker of Yering Farm Wines (please visit their website at: www.yeringfarm.com.au).

The wine region is called the Upper Goulburn Wine Region Victoria (formerly Central Victorian High Country) and is promoted by various organisations among them the Upper Goulburn Winegrowers Association of which we are also a member (please visit their website: www.uppergoulburnwine.org.au). I took the map from this website. Unfortunately, it’s not up to date (we are not yet listed as members for instance) but it gives some idea of the location.
ugmap2.jpg

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Why this blog?

January 9, 2007

Mosel river in Trier

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).

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