This blog post is dedicated not only to the great Riesling-maker Peter Lauer, but to all people in this world that really want to make a difference with regards to ecological lifestyle and climate change. Especially when they are limited by technological boundaries or - even worse - bureaucratic or political boundaries that are just hard to believe.
You have to have a strong will to make a difference. That is definitely our most important learning from our visit at Peter Lauer and the beautiful Saar region. It helps to fight for things you truly believe in, because the boundaries can sometimes be unexpected and ugly. But lets starts step by step….
Getting ready for the harvest
When we came to the Saar, harvest was just around the corner. A beautiful time of year in this amazing region. Florian Lauer was in preparation mood. You could feel it when driving and walking through the vineyards with him. Little things had to be done left and right. A calm man on the outside, but a multitasker on the inside - always planning three steps ahead.
We do not have to tell you much more about our love for Saar Riesling. Grown in beautiful cool climate this area stands for remarkable dry wines, crisp and perfectly racy Kabinetts and just wonderful juicy and easy-drinking Auslese Rieslings. And winery Peter Lauer is always on top in all these categories. Tasting through the lineup will definitely make you a Riesling fan.
Where the challenges come in
Florian Lauer is someone who is deeply interested in all topics regarding sustainability and doing things in the best ecological way. And you quickly realize that there are many challenges on the way. We are not only talking about a biodynamic approach in the vineyards.
Many of our conversations circled around these ecological topics. How to treat the vineyards the best way. How to restore the right balance between human beings, animals and plants while still doing agriculture. But Florians thoughts go much further.
One example: When you work in the steep slopes of the Saar region. You can hardly work with a lot of machines. Only a few track vehicles - hanging on steel ropes - can be used. But they all run with Diesel. So Florian started to look for ways to use battery electric vehicles. But until today, they are too heavy because of the batteries and would definitely slide down the steep slopes. Not an easy task.
But technological boundaries on your way to more sustainable winemaking are the smallest part. When it comes to political boundaries it gets really ugly.
The German Sekt drama
If you produce sparkling wines in Germany - also known as „Sekt“ - you are forced by law to put an aluminium capsule over the top of the bottle. This is the way it has been done the last 100 years. The main argument is that is helps the consumer in his/her orientation.
That is definitely worth fighting against. The ecological footprint of these capsules are a sheer disaster. Each capsule needs 11ml petroleum, 12g of bauxite, 4g brown coal and 50wh of energy. To produce it 48g CO2 are emitted. Imagine the millions of Sekt bottles in Germany alone. Tons of CO2 emissions could easily be saved by a change in the law. And think about the amounts of unnecessary trash!
Florian and some other supporters have started an initiative to file a lawsuit against this nonsense. And it turned out they have stirred up a hornet’s nest. The truth is that this law basically protects the producers of cheap mass sparkling wines. They use very cheap and also very ugly looking aluminium constructions to hold the - even uglier looking - plastic cork. And they need the capsules to make it look „nicer“.
Unfortunately, these people also have a very strong lobby. Also at the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture. Florian knows about this very well. He even received calls from the Ministry trying to talk him into stopping this initiative. At first instance he was rejected in court. An unbelievable procedure! Someone who fights for the right thing is stopped by people who just want to make a lot of money. This is how the world works in way too many areas.
But Florian stands solid and continues his fight against this madness. German Minister of Food and Agriculture has changed in the recent weeks and we really cross our fingers that things will turn to a better. And we decided to fully support Florians initiative.
Back to the great Rieslings
This is why, this blog story is also about setbacks, how to deal with them and the unbeatable will to change things to the better. This is one of the many aspects in life that you can learn from winemakers when visiting them. A topic that is really close to our hearts at the moment is the climate crises and that a „we continue as in the past“ is clearly not acceptable. When we met Florian Lauer, we definitely found a like-minded soul.
But what needs to stick in your mind most of all: The Rieslings of winery Peter Lauer are outstanding, top of the top, you shouldn’t miss it and buy some right away!
weingut peter lauer . ayl
Inh. Florian Lauer
Triererstr. 49
54441 Ayl
Germany
Visit website of winemaker Peter Lauer.