Didier, "controversial figure" was putting it a bit strongly. There was (still is?) a lively debate in the german blogosphere about his whole marketing concept, which relies on pop-cultural references and innuendo (remember his wine "sex machine"?) and is the opposite of the image of the wine maker as a soft-spoken craftsman that people are still used to, I suppose. I remember that it drew particular criticism when he started using the vineyard name "Kirchenstück" prominently on his Riesling labels. Perfectly in order, except that the famous vineyard that this would inevitable be taken to refer to is of course the Forster Kirchenstück, while Schneider's Ellerstadter Kirchenstück, a completely different piece of land, is unremarkable and quite flat. Unobjectionable, of course, but to the more sceptical, this was a perfect instance of style over substance.
In reply to Schneider by Vimpressionniste
Controversial Schneider
Didier, "controversial figure" was putting it a bit strongly. There was (still is?) a lively debate in the german blogosphere about his whole marketing concept, which relies on pop-cultural references and innuendo (remember his wine "sex machine"?) and is the opposite of the image of the wine maker as a soft-spoken craftsman that people are still used to, I suppose. I remember that it drew particular criticism when he started using the vineyard name "Kirchenstück" prominently on his Riesling labels. Perfectly in order, except that the famous vineyard that this would inevitable be taken to refer to is of course the Forster Kirchenstück, while Schneider's Ellerstadter Kirchenstück, a completely different piece of land, is unremarkable and quite flat. Unobjectionable, of course, but to the more sceptical, this was a perfect instance of style over substance.