David Klenert has a range of fun makers in the basement. Fortunately, he interprets humid, cheerful entertainment more seriously and above all more tastefully than the kitschy novels. His passion: wine. They are as uncomplicated and entertaining as the winemaker himself. Read here, why you should get the good mood fruit salads in your house bar.
“Before your throat gets dry, take a sip first – you shouldn’t forget to drink it when you’re chatting” (* insert Baden dialect here)
Hand on your heart: Do you get bored with the standard mash in sports interviews – mainly soccer players – even so? Where are the real guys? The honest guys who say what they think? Who talk freely from the liver? Keyword liver – only in the direction of the liver: that’s the playing field of David Klenert. The young winemaker from the Kraichgau region immediately shows the enthusiasm for his profession. He is sitting in front of a camera in Münzesheim, around 300 kilometers away. David has recently started organizing regular online wine tastings. When guests can’t get to him, he simply streams wit, charm and fruit salad knowledge into their living room or garden – where there’s a WLAN, a will is a wine.
Klick! Gentlemens Journey as guest at David Klenert’s online wine tasting – the adventure review and link to the Nachstreamen
Message in a bottle with announcement
Just talking into the camera for two hours was a challenge for David. “I did wine tastings in a hall with 80 people. You can see the facial expressions, the faces, the reaction. But digitally – I only see the camera, and I know: But they all see you, and there are more than 1000 people out there watching. At the beginning that was overcoming. But not for long, because David made the best out of it: He remained himself. And he talked freely of his wines, his way to the winegrower, his idea. He shared the stage with six different wines from his portfolio, which can be sent to you in advance as pacts. In addition, a stack of cards with questions from the audience, which David Klenert answers during the stream from honest to expert to smug. Supervised drinking with an educational mission – I like it!
Wine ain’t a poem interpretation
Of course, viewers would always have suggestions for improvement, David says, and has to laugh. “It’s like soccer: The best experts are always off the pitch. Everyone knows how it should be. But that’s not my wine game philosophy. I want to convey the uncomplicated, offer people access to wine in a relaxed, approachable way. Because in the past that was stylized much too highly. Wine was always presented in a heady and aloof way, which scared off many customers right from the start,” he explains. He wouldn’t want to spend three hours talking about a wine, says the winemaker, and then he follows right afterwards: “Wine has to taste good, and then it’s good. You have to take away people’s fear that wine is a competition and you always need the highest score in flavor bingo”.
This is exactly what always involuntarily amuses me when experts deflate themselves into completely new spheres with statements of candied South Sea peach and fresh asphalt. I got to know the wines of David Klenert in my favorite bar here in Munich, the Weinheim. The hosts describe their wines on the menu only with hashtags. #fruity, #spaßimglas, #puresobst stands there. And please: That is enough to make you curious. If the first wine is fun, you can see if there is more of this winemaker on the list. And bang – you want to have the good mood bottle post at home.
I want to try Pinot Gris, I want to try Pinot Gris … and this one you’re voluntarily detaining. David’s white wine is not a “I-will-fame-and-attention” bad boy, not a follower who wants to taste it all.
The Grauburgunder is a casual wine that dares to do something, that doesn’t take itself too seriously. If you like yellow fruits (sorry, beard) you won’t go wrong with this slightly creamy white wine. As if honeydew melon or mirabelle were knocking gently and freshly. Nice.
You have to kiss several wines to find the bottle prince(s)
There is no right and wrong, David agrees: “Many people in the deeper wine scene have complained that I don’t go into detail about the wines, that I don’t pray down a fruit basket. My professor in college could also tell from a glass for half an hour what he could smell. But most people are not interested in that. That quickly becomes too much for many people. I’m the type: I introduce the three aromas that come to my mind first. I swallow the rest.”
It is not about recognition, it is about having a good time together. Wine tastings should be fun. Finding your personal taste is the main focus. And that can only be done by tasting, tasting, tasting, says David. “Never say: I have no idea. You can also think about what it reminds me of. An experience like a walk on the beach, a special meal – whatever. Enjoying, even silence sometimes, everything is allowed.
I personally ain’t a fan of keeping it quiet or keep silence with with David’s wines, because you want to share the enthusiasm in them. Whether Chardonnay, white wine cuvée, rosé or red wine from the Lemberger variety – the wines are like your winemaker. They are not fake, they don’t want to play a show, don’t wear unnecessary make-up, don’t have any airs and graces or don’t want to be deciphered. They are honest, approachable and give Glasweise a good time.
With one of my favorites by David Klenert: The Lemberger in my favorite wine bar. In the Weinheim wine shopping list I have already introduced the red wine to you. An uncomplicated red wine, but one that adds a lot of pepper and spice. In short: really cool conversation material!
Test of courage: puzzle a fruit salad
Just as exciting is the question: What makes the person behind a product tick. And: Why do you do this job? For David, a quick answer. “Because it’s the coolest job in the world for me,” the winemaker explains with unbridled verve. Working in and with nature, variety, he doesn’t do the same work for two weeks in a row. “My grandfather was a winemaker, I was literally born with this talent. I simply love to be outdoors – I was often out in the fields during the vacations and also on Saturdays. Since I was 14 years old, it was clear: I will become a winemaker. However, a company within the family was not available for a takeover. David had zero chances of starting. But he wanted to go the way.
Setting up your own business with a winery: Were there moments of fear? Of course there were. “Before I took the final step in 2015, I visited younger wineries to learn to understand their views. One of the winemakers taught me a saying that has remained in my head to this day. “David, just remember: 2/3 courage, 1/3 fear of it. That’s the right mixture ratio.” He was right. Fear paralyzes. If you are too scared, you are blocked and you can never do what you want to do right. But if you are no longer afraid or respectful of the matter at hand, you become megalomaniacal and lose your way. You must always approach new things with the necessary respect. There are always risks. Especially financially. Only since 2015, when I was 25. You have to imagine. To deliver such wines in the time – brutal delivery. David and his wife Eva cultivate about 13 hectares of vineyards in the surroundings of Münzesheim, on different sites with different soils, from loess loam to keuper.
Having it in his own hands is exactly what appeals to David Klenert. “I am fascinated by the creation of a great end product. I have so much in my own hands, I can determine and influence how this product will be. Wine is like a giant puzzle – in the end it has to come up with a beautiful picture. Every step must fit. Harvest, processing, fermentation, storage. If one piece of the puzzle becomes crooked, the whole picture becomes crooked. And nobody tastes that.”
David Klenert loves his job. His wines are as honest and relaxed as the winegrower.
During the online wine tasting David does not see the audience – only the camera (front left). It is an art in itself to bring the glass filling across in an entertaining way.
Seduction on the tongue
Keyword intensively: A particularly seductive fun maker is to be conjured shortly from the cellar, David betrays. He was able to take over the oldest Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard in the Kraichgau. In the past 30 years, however, it has mostly turned into juice. Now he has turned a few screws and will caress a red wine cuvée called Black Label, which will be a real treat for the tongue.
No wonder, the lively Baden-Württemberg resident gets bored very quickly. Simply relax on vacation? Maldives? “After two days at the sea, I would be seething and have to do something.” You feel it too – because David could only do jigsaw puzzles the dry way during his vacation.
More infos:
Online-Weinprobe zum Nachstreamen
If you want to get an impression of how a digital tasting with David Klenert works, you can stream all previous events from the comfort of your own home – just click here to go to the YouTube channel. Of course it’s more fun if you can actively participate. Just check the dates for the upcoming events at klenert-wein.de/online-weinprobe and write or call David on Monday at the latest. Then a package will be on its way (it always consists of 6 different wines for a total of super fair 60 Euro) and will be in your living room in time before the digital toasting starts.
