A Master Sommelier From Germany Stops By To Talk Wine

A Master Sommelier From Germany Stops By To Talk Wine – Episode #605

January 7, 2009

Master Sommelier Hendrik Thoma from Germany stops by and chats wine, german wine and shows us his great personality.

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Comments on this episode(423) Leave a comment ›

“I missed the favorite song question at the end there. ,…” by Bob78
“Terrific episode. Great guest, great Bulava video tacked on at the en…” by Daria Kushmelyn
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Wines tasted in this episode:

1992 Zilliken Saarburger Rausch Spatlese RieslingGerman Riesling
2007 Cartagena GewurtztraminerOther Chilean White Wine
2006 Becker Pinot NoirOther German Varieties
2006 Donnhoff Oberhauser Brucke Riesling AusleseGerman Riesling

Links mentioned in today’s episode.

If you want to contact Hendrik

423 Responses

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January 27, 2009

JudeMurphy
Hey I completely got out of the habit of watching wltv but I’m getting back on track!
QOTD- Probably not but you never know what tricks the producers are pulling for profits!
January 26, 2009

yowens
What a great guest! ONe of my favorites!
January 21, 2009

thomas reynolds
if there was it wouldn’t be under 8 bones for long. Question back Is anybody trying to make a great wine at under 8 bucks a throw? Is anybody tasting the 8 and under offerings? How much would they charge for the next vintage if the 8 dollar previous vintage got a 94? As for regular people, who is trolling the 8 and under rack with a pallet that could substantiate the greatness? or perhaps it just helped you enjoy a great evening. Nonetheless we can all enjoy searching and then stocking up on whatever we deem great. If it is great throw your wine guy the extra 2$ change from that 10 spot.(or wine gal) Thought your guest was great
January 21, 2009

tuscanbob
Super episode. Just got back from Munich and that city obviously runs on beer. I’m looking forward to exploring more of Germany in the future.

QOTD: I have had plenty of good (sometimes very good) wines at the $8 price point (most notably from Spain) but I can’t call any of them great.
January 20, 2009

Heather W
Vielen Dank, Hendrik! What a great episode. I love Hamburg, I went to a really good restaurant there last time. Ristorante San Daniele in Poppenbuettel. I especially loved the reference to Ricola, as my boyfriend is Swiss and I love to recite the commercial. Wer hats erfunden? Schweizer. LOL.

QOTD: Can’t think of anything off the top of my head, but anything is possible, right?
January 19, 2009

Kristen
Hendrik was such an awesome guest! It looks like you two had a great time. He should definitely make the trip back for another episode! I loved Germany when I visited. People were so nice there and Hamburg is such an amazing city! Unfortunately I missed the Xmas market by one day…that just means I have to go back!

QOTD: A good $5 wine? Perhaps something serviceable, but what with the cost of labor, etc I don’t see a “great” wine coming from a $5 bottle, unless someone is doing wine drinkers a service and taking a loss on each bottle! Maybe in South America you could get a rather good wine for $5, but I’m highly doubtful. If you find one, lemme know, I’d love to try it out!
January 19, 2009

JJB
I’ve been lurking it up for a while now, really liked this show and thought it’s about time i left a comment. Great show, great guest, agree with Drew that you work well together, and liked the extra vid at the end!!

Dawn, don’t worry, U.S. wines aren’t unknown over in Europe, certainly not in UK anyway. Here restaurant wines lists are likely to include California Chardonnay and a quality Napa Cab/Sauv for instance. Also plenty of Zinfandel and White Zinfandel in the shops. Had a nice Washington State Merlot recently too.

However, we do seem to get more wine form other New World Countries, especially Australia, NZ and Chile (from where i tried a nice Gewurtz recently!)

QOTD: Decent wines yes, and i’d like to think there is a great wine for each palate out there somewhere – fun trying to find it too!

Keep up the good work GV..

Love “Soccer” !!!
January 19, 2009

pierazzo
excellent guest, excellent show.
5 dollars: difficult yet possible, but definitely not in Europe.
ciao a tutti
January 19, 2009

elliott
This guy is fucking awesome…. Enthusiastic europeans make me laugh
January 18, 2009

Roland
Nice show. I liked the contrast in purpose. Hendrik focuses on how a wine can be matched to a meal and value within a variaty and Gary has a more absolute perspective on the wines being tasted and how they compare to other wines at their pricepoint.
January 17, 2009

Dawn
Forgot to mention… I think it is quite sad that wines from America are unknown overseas!!!
January 17, 2009

Dawn
Really liked this episode. Great guest. Nice banter…

Also enjoyed the video that was “tacked” on!

QOTD: Don’t think anything more than just ok for $8.
January 17, 2009

Tobias
Infrequent commenter but not a lurker.. who thinks soccer is a far more exciting game to watch than Am.football.

Good show. Mr Thoma was a good guest (and quite modest never to mention his somm world championship, cuvées and Laguiole special edition) but I wish GV would develop his listening skills with guests. The occasional abdominal breath, Gary, it will take nothing away from the passion.

QoTD: A spohisticated wine can’t be achieved at that price point, but there can exist servceable more large-scale productions. Obviously far cheaper wines can please vast numbers of wine drinkers, and who can judge?
January 16, 2009

Johnnyutah
Top 5 show of all time!

QOTD: A great wine could not be made for under $8 in an area such as Napa, Margaux, Nuits St George, or the Mosel due to costs of labor, land, ect as well as the relative high global value of their dollars. Perhaps in Australia or South American this could be done. So what one would need is to bring a world class viticulturalist and winemaker into an extreme value area and then maybe…
January 16, 2009

DaveyDonut
Hey, do I win a prize for being the first one to recognize your watch as a Cartier in the comments of the last episode? Well, I would certainly hope so!

Fantastic guest today! The episode was so long that I had to wait until I had 40 minutes to watch it, but glad I went back and did so. I have some of the 2005 Donnhoff Oberhauser Brucke Riesling Auslese… probably won’t splurge for the 2006 as it’s roughly TWICE what I paid for the 2005.

QOTD: I have certainly had very drinkable wine for under $8… but I’ve never scored anything above 89 points. But still, 89 for $8 is pretty awesome.

David
January 15, 2009

Ryan Dinkelman
Hilarious video at the end! Totally classic use of the music from The Great Escape. Loved the guest, awesome show, more more more! Here’s to a great 2009!
January 15, 2009

soleil
he is absolutely adorable!!! great show!
January 15, 2009

Budzinski
Sensational show. This is the essence of wine on video. Pure, emotional no extra blabla. 1) Wonder how I can get this Gewürztraminer from Chili – here in Bonn/Germany. 2) Coolest wine-guest I know. Because Hendrik is Germany’s top wine model. Nobody else in the world – maybe except Claudia Schiffer or Heidi Klum – could get me to lick a stone. Hendrik did.
January 14, 2009

C-Lo
QOTD – Great sub $8 wine? occasionally yes, but consistently, nope~ (if you do find some though, please let me know!)

Go get those knickers Hendrik!!! Awesome show
January 14, 2009

bangkokbabay
Question of the Day??????????? Hendrik Thoma What wine do we find under $8.00 USD…………?

Crane Lake, Napa CA
Petite Sirah – 2005

$5.00 USD!!!!

This is an Absolutely Fabulous Wine! – Hands Down!
January 14, 2009

Brian
Great episode, really like the interaction. Oh yeah,nice watch.
January 14, 2009

Alan and Gayle
What a great episode, fun to see battle of the palates. Gary, way to hold your ground…LOL

QOTD: NO!! You can’t make a good wine for less than $13!!!!!
January 14, 2009

Nik
Very interesting guest and a great show all-round!
January 14, 2009

pawncop
What a great episode! I think you did a great job Gary of sharing the table with Hendrik.

QOTD – It can be done, but it is not easy. (Pretty stock answer huh?)
January 14, 2009

John
Maybe a fantastic winemaker can do it, but it’s definitely not a simple task.

Great episode.