Riesling Fellowship
Riesling Fellowship
In 2013 Wines of Germany officially recognised six Riesling fellows for their dedication, passion and love of German Riesling. They have considerably contributed to enhancing the appreciation and image of German Riesling significantly in the UK and around the world. Since then, in 2015 and 2016, five more Riesling Fellows were honored at London's Vintner's Hall and during Vinexpo in Hongkong by Monika Reule, managing director of the German Wine Institute. Another four Riesling Fellows from Europe were awarded in 2016. For the first time, three Riesling Fellows were selected in the USA in 2017. In 2018, four more Riesling Fellows were honored in Hong Kong. In 2019 four Riesling Fellows from Europe were awarded in Berlin. In 2021, two Riesling Fellows were selected from Canada.
Riesling Fellows 2021
Al Drinkle
Riesling Fellow
Al Drinkle is a partner in Metrovino Fine Wines, a retail destination in Calgary, Canada where he’s been working since 2008. The completion of his philosophy degree was concurrent with his budding interest in wine (and the disbanding of his touring punk rock group), and a few early Riesling epiphanies inspired him to pursue a career in the wine trade. Read more
Harry Drung
Riesling Fellow
Harry Drung is the president of HHD Imports, based in Waterloo, Ontario. He says he has been involved with the alcoholic beverage industry since he was 7 years old, when his immigrant father entered the industry as a multilingual sales representative. Read more
Riesling Fellows 2019
Nils Flaaten
Riesling Fellow
For the past 32 years, Nils Flaaten has run the Flaaten wine store in Oslo, first founded in 1893. He has developed it into one of the most significant private wine merchants in all of Norway. Read more
Tomasz Prange-Barczyński
Riesling Fellow
Tomasz Prange-Barczyński is one of Poland's best-known and most respected wine critics, authors, editors and wine jurors. Journalism courses through his veins, but his heart belongs to wine. Read more
Nico Knott
Riesling Fellow
Nico Knott is a hotelier, chef and wine merchant of the highest caliber. He first founded his own hotel-restaurant, the "Vier Jahreszeiten," 30 years ago in 1989 in Nidrum, a small town near the German/Belgian border. Read more
Lars Daniëls
Riesling Fellow
In his role as Editor-in-Chief for Perswijn, the Netherland's leading wine magazine, Lars Daniëls traverses all corners of the world of wine. Read more
Riesling Fellows 2018
Fongyee Walker, Master of Wine
Riesling Fellow
Fongyee Walker is the co-founder, with Edward Ragg, of Dragon Phoenix Wine Consulting, Beijing’s first and fully independent wine consulting and education service (est. 2007). She is the first and only Master of Wine resident in Mainland China. Read more
Eisaku Kurokawa, Fushimi Wines
Riesling Fellow
Eisaku Kurokawa is the president of the Japanese import company Fushimi Wines. His dedication for German wine is strongly connected with his commitment to develop the German Wine Association in Japan, of which he has been the secretary general for many years. Read more
Dr. Hoon Choi, Editor Wine Review
Riesling Fellow
Before earnestly setting foot in the world of wine, Dr. Choi served as a public official for more than 30 years. In particular, he greatly contributed to the success of the 1988 Seoul Olympics by taking charge of the tourism and transport sectors. Read more
Stephen Brook, wine writer
Riesling Fellow
Stephen Brook studied English and philosophy at Trinity College, Cambridge. After many years as a publisher’s editor, in both the United States and Britain, he became a freelance writer in 1982 and has written many award-winning books on travel and wine. Read more
Riesling Fellows 2017
David Schildknecht, American Wine Critic
Riesling Fellow
David Schildknecht worked as a restaurateur before spending a quarter century in the U.S. wine trade. His curiosity and affection were aroused by bottles of German Riesling savored during his University years, but it was only after he entered the trade, and especially after (in chronological order) Barbara and Johannes Selbach, Terry Theise and Rudi Wiest found their ways to Rex Wine & Spirits in Washington DC that David became a real Riesling convert. Read more!
Terry Theise, Terry Theise Estate Selections
Riesling Fellow
Terry Theise has been a wine importer and writer for thirty years. With a love and passion for Germany, Terry began working with a group of small German growers in 1985 - discovering underappreciated and underrepresented varietals. His wines have in common a distinct character, a point of view, vitality, and a voice. Read more!
Riesling Fellows 2016
Martin Lam, food, wine and restaurant consultant
Riesling Fellow
With a passion for demonstrating the food-matching abilities of German wine, he has long been an ambassador for German Riesling in the UK. Read more!
François Langbeen, importer, Belgium
Riesling Fellow
François Langbeen, importer from Belgium was awarded with the ProRiesling Förderpreis in 2006. Read more
Peter Kuhn, peterkuhnweine.ch
Riesling Fellow
Peter Kuhn, wine merchant in Switzerland, is known as a German wine expert. Read more!
Max Gerstl, Gerstl Weinselektionen
Riesling Fellow
Max Gerstl, wine importer from Switzerland, was one of the first Swiss to import German wines. Read more!
Jeannie Cho Lee, Master of Wine
Riesling Fellow
Jeannie Cho Lee, Master of Wine, Writer, television host, wine critic, judge and educator Jeannie Cho Lee became the first Asian Master of Wine in 2008. Born in Korea and educated in America, she has lived in Hong Kong for more than 20 years. Lee has a master's degree from Harvard, a Certificat de Cuisine from Cordon Bleu and a Master Sake Sommelier qualification from the Japan Sake Service Institute. Read more
Ian Ford, Summergate
Riesling Fellow
Ian was born and raised in New York City, one of the world’s most vibrant and dynamic cities. He attended Duke University, graduating with a BA in History, focusing primarily on modern China and Mandarin Chinese. After an initial sojourn in China for one year in 1990, Ian moved permanently to China in 1995 to take up a career in the wine and spirits business with Seagram, based in Beijing. Read more
Hisashi and Takahiro Yamano - Herrenberger Hof A.G.
Riesling Fellows
Japanese importer Herrenberger Hof was founded 1982 in Kobe. In 1995 the company had to move to Osaka after a powerful earthquake struck. Herrenberger Hof also opened a branch in Tokyo which now operates as a successful business. In 1996, the company started to focus mainly on German brands. Read more!
Katsuyuki Tanaka, Japan
Riesling Fellow
Katsuyuki Tanaka, Journalist, born in Tokyo in 1962. After working as an assistant director of marketing department of a major restaurant company based in Tokyo and a director of a restaurant & food service company based in New York, he joined Winart magazine when it was launched in 97 as a chief writer, and stayed there for 10 years. Read more!
Riesling Fellows 2015
Albert De Jong
Riesling Fellow
Albert De Jong is a Dutch Wine writer and specialist who has worked in the food and wine industry for over three decades. Read more
Paul Grieco
Riesling Fellow
A true character in the industry; Paul Grieco has lent his tireless energy and boundless enthusiasm to spreading the message of German Riesling in the USA. Read more
Riesling Fellows 2014
Hew Blair
Riesling Fellow
Hew Blair is Chairman and Buying Director of Justerini & Brooks. A lifelong fan of German Riesling, his dedication has seen sales at Justerini & Brooks double year on year, "thanks to improvements in quality and labelling - and the fact that sommeliers love German wines." Now Chairman and Buying Director of the company, Hew was educated at both Harrow and Bordeaux University, specialising in viticulture and oenology. Read more!
Sebastian Thomas
Riesling Fellow
Sebastian Thomas brought a love of fine German wines to Howard Ripley when he joined in 2000. The supplier now has one of the largest German lists of any UK agent and has won many merchant awards for its amazing German wine list including Harpers Specialist Merchant 2014 and the International Wine Challenge 2014. Read more!
Stuart Pigott
Riesling Fellow
Stuart Pigott is a British wine critic and author who has lived in Berlin since 1993. Author of 'Best White Wine on Earth - The Riesling Story', Stuart was in his early twenties when he began writing about wine and published his first article in Decanter Magazine in 1984. Read more!
Riesling Fellows 2013
David Motion
Riesling Fellow
David Motion is famed for the incredible range of German wines available through his shop The Winery in Maida Vale. His support for emerging wine producers is unparalleled and David never misses an opportunity to get people tasting German Rieslings through weekly wine tastings in store or sharing his expertise in various formats across the UK media. Read more!
Freddy Price
Riesling Fellow
Freddy Price has dedicated his life to wine through buying, selling, marketing, lecturing and judging on tasting panels and it is through his writing that he has really voiced his passion for German wine. Read more!
Jancis Robinson
Riesling Fellow
As one of the world’s leading wine writers, Jancis Robinson is one of the most influential figures in the wine industry. Her commitment to spreading the word about German Riesling has undoubtedly had a profound effect in changing the views of opinion leaders. Our industry is lucky to have such a strong force to push the German Riesling message. Read more!
Nigel Blundell
Riesling Fellow
Nigel was born in 1943 into a family who were very much involved in the wine and brewing trade. His father and Grandfather worked for C.W. Blundell Ltd of Plymouth and Kingsbridge and Nigel’s introduction into the wine trade began from this point. Read more!
Iris Ellman
Riesling Fellow
Iris Ellmann founded The WineBarn over 11 years ago and since this time, it has become the name synonymous with supplying quality, modern German wine. Over the last 12 months the WineBarn has continued to expand its wine portfolio and it has strong links with a collection of award winning producers. Read more!
Hugh Johnson
Riesling Fellow
Hugh Johnson became a member of the Cambridge University Wine and Food Society while an undergraduate at King’s College, Cambridge in the 1950s where he was reading English. Read more!