My guest this week is James Beard award winning importer, and now author Terry Theise.
The Man, the Myth, the Legend! If it is true that the road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom, Terry Theise has been there and back. A brief perusal of his writing makes it quickly apparent that the man has no reservations about conveying his thoughts and feelings on wine, life, sex, philosophy and general cosmology. In Terry’s world, it’s all inter-related.
Terry is responsible for bringing some of the finest wines available from; Germany, Austria and the Champage region of France – to wine drinkers in America. And now with his new book “Reading Between the Wines” he is bringing his wit and wine views to wine consumers everywhere. Long known for his top-notch portfolio and his illustrious writing, Terry now offers this opinionated, idiosyncratic, and beautifully written testament to wine. What constitutes beauty in wine, and how do we appreciate it? What role does wine play in a soulful, sensual life? Can wines of place survive in a world of globalized styles and 100-point scoring systems? In his highly approachable style, Theise describes how wine can be a portal to aesthetic, emotional, even mystical experience–and he frankly asserts that these experiences are most likely to be inspired by wines from artisan producers. Along the way, Theise tells us a little about how he got where he is today, explores the meaning of wine in the lives of vintners he has known, and praises particular grape varieties. Reading between the Wines is a passionate tribute to wine–and to what it can say to us once we learn to listen!
The Theise Manifesto:
Beauty is more important than impact.
Harmony is more important than intensity.
The whole of any wine must always be more than the sum of its parts.
Distinctiveness is more important than conventional prettiness.
Soul is more important than anything, and soul is expressed as a trinity of family, soil, and artisanality.
The entire show is devoted to Terry, the book and WINE…an hour wasn’t enough.
Good Life Guy’s Wines of the Week:
Three great products imported by Michael Skurnik wines from the portfolio of Terry Thiese
- NV Pierre Peters Grower Champagne-Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru
- 2008 Hirsch #1 Gruner Veltliner
- 2007 Selbach-Oster Zeltlinger Sonnenuhr, Riesling Kabinett
Learn more about Terry, checkout his blog and many articles, and discover the above wines and more.