2019 Milan Nestarec TRBLMKR Moravia, Czech Republic

“This is basically me, bottled. A wine so important and characteristical of who I am that I use it instead of business cards. Not love at first sight, but if you’re on the same wavelength, you might become friends for life. Not a big talker, more of a thinker. But opens up and even cracks jokes when surrounded by like-minded people.” “This wine is always based on Neuburger (Neuburské), the once-popular local variety that’s IMHO perfectly adapted to our soil. During the communist era, it was a popular piquette ingredient (pejoratively called “seconds” in Czech), as its fleshy berries are difficult to press and hence are prone to leave a lot of raw material in the pomace for a second serve. Nowadays, the grape is sadly disappearing, mostly due to its lower yields and compact grape, which makes it prone to rot. Case in point: when my father was looking for rootstock in 2001, there was a feeding frenzy for vines, but nobody wanted Neuburger, so we kind of went for what was left– and I coul