“The man pictured on this wine bottle’s label looks familiar!” I think to myself, peering at the wine bottle with a picture of a somewhat scary looking gentleman in a stiff white shirt and black jacket on the label. Dracula? Nope. As it turns out, the figure just happens to be an ancient relative of Martin Tesch, the low key, yet passionate leader of a family-owned winery that has been in his family since 1723.
Looking from the label to Martin Tesch, indeed I can see a flicker of resemblance, albeit the two gentlemen have been separated by three centuries and are opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of attire. Whereas the ancient Mr. Tesch’s picture appears the height of formality, Martin Tesch is dressed like a surfer from Santa Barbara, California in a faded t-shirt and jeans. Still, both men have lived on the family estate, walked the same Nahe village streets, and toiled in the same vineyard soil.
”Any other similarities?” I ask Dr. Tesch, who despite his casual attire is quite formal in manner and has a degree in microbiology. To answer my question, Tesch reveals that his family has the diary of that ancient family winery founder, and that his ancestor’s concerns about the family wine business, including market and weather conditions, echo his own.
Now if you are new to wines from Germany, realize that Riesling is king. Riesling is a white-skinned, late-ripening varietal that does well in Germany’s cool climate, especially on steep vineyards with mineral rich soil that happen to face south and reflect the radiant heat from the Rhine river. Perhaps more than any other grape in the world, Riesling takes on a variety of expressions depending on the soil, the vintage, the steepness of the slope, the proximity to water, and exposure to the sun. Beyond dry Riesling you also have the complex world of off-dry Riesling, sweet Riesling, and the luscious botrytized dessert wines known as Trokenbeerenauslese (TBA) and Beerenauslese.
But this article is about Martin Tesch and his focus on dry Rieslings. The Tesch wine estate is located in the Nahe region in Southwest Germany, with grapes grown on vineyards classified as “Grand Cru” or “Grosses Gewachs” in German. Here vineyards are shielded from the harsh west wind, and thrive on soils rich in minerals from an ancient seabed. Tesch pulls out a jar of shark teeth his kids collected in the vineyard to give a clear sense of this ancient, mineral-rich terroir.
Upon his father’s retirement, Martin Tesch looked at the winery’s accounting books, examined the marketplace for Riesling, and made his decision to focus exclusively on the production of quality dry wine. In 2002 he grubbed up vines, replanted, and stopped producing any medium-dry Rieslings. His goal was to return to the basics of authenticity, balance, and complexity.
Towards that end, he created the new international favorite, called Riesling Unplugged – a name clearly meant for the MTV generation. The wine is as natural as you can get, with tremendous value placed on environment-friendly viticulture. The wine is untreated, meaning no must concentration or chaptalisation (the producure of adding sugar to the wine to increase alcohol). The result is a dry, light wine with intense minerals and concentrated fruit on the nose, and a long palate with refreshing acidity.
Dining in the Bellpepper restaurant of the five-star Hyatt hotel in the city of Mainz recently, I was delighted to see Riesling Unplugged on the wine list – and promptly ordered it. With every sip, I remembered the meeting Dr. Tesch was so kind to give, and the sharks’ teeth his children collected in the vineyard which, no doubt, gives Riesling Unplugged its mineral-rich signature flavor.
