The thing about wine tastings…
Janko Štekar’s vineyard in Brda, Slovenia
Is that everyone thinks they’re some sort of dull, savant-led, fluorescent lit affair.
And while that might be true for the majority of tastings — it’s not the case for the eccentrics doing it differently.
One of my most cherished memories happened in the Brda region of remote Slovenia, where I had the opportunity to meet famed winemaker, Janko Štekar. Our meeting with him was noted on the itinerary as “party at Štekar”.
At the time, I was accustomed to the copy-paste formula du jour: cheesy tasting sheets, 1 ounce pours of some 15+ wines, permitted but stiff discussion — medium plus acidity, anyone?
Janko was the complete antithesis of everything I was accustomed to. He arrived at our meeting in farming attire: shorts, sandals and a soiled t-shirt.
His energy was infectious, his passion for the land palpable, and a laugh that elicited nothing short of a shit eating grin.
We sat down to a simple meal of charcuterie and roasted vegetables. The wine flowed easily and generously, and it wasn’t long until we’d all become fast friends.
Janko regaled the lore of his region, his wines, and his Slovenia, then shared that he couldn’t wait to pour us his famous Gewurztraminer/Merlot blend the following morning. Gewurztraminer/Merlot? Colour us intrigued!
By now, it was well into the early hours of the morning, and Janko had to be up at 5am to get back into the vines, so off to bed he went for a few mere hours of rest.
30 or so odd minutes later, he re-appeared. He had in fact, not gone to bed. Instead. opted to wake his neighbour for some of that “locally grown Brda weed”. I don’t think any of us got to bed before 6am.
The following day, we made our way to the cellar post breakfast, ready for another full day of tasting.
We excitedly requested the famous Gewurztraminer/Merlot Janko had us all drooling for the night before.
“What? Who said I made that?”
Janko had absolutely no recollection of claiming to make such an odd blend.
This forever shifted my perception of what wine tasting actually should be: a chance to connect, let loose, have fun and be imperfect.
I haven’t ever been able to look at tastings the same, dreading white linen clothed tables, crammed with pretentious, loud-mouthed collectors bragging about their latest auction acquisitions and uttering the term “confected” unironically.
Wine, a drink of biblical proportions, a beverage wars have been fought over, reduced to unmemorable middlemen erasing its original purpose: to get drunk and be merry. Sacrilege.
What especially strikes me is that (mostly new world) wineries pay consultants egregious figures all to find out “the secret” to connecting with the consumer.
Janko’s is a model I shamelessly copy in my own wine tasting experiences and events — success I attribute partially to him.
Janko figured it out, all without even trying: all he did was be himself and tell his stories over a great glass of wine.
