Konstantin Baum MW reaches an audience of millions worldwide with his tasting videos on YouTube. In this interview, the 41-year-old Geisenheim graduate explains why he doesn't want to be an influencer, how his videos are created and what limits he sets for himself.
Konstantin Baum MW
Guido BittnerYou are considered one of the world's wine stars on YouTube, with almost 160,000 people following your channel. What was the first video you uploaded?
Konstantin Baum: It was an introductory video for my first channel, which was supposed to be in German. But I didn't actually realise it because life somehow got in the way. Then came the first video on the new channel, as it is now: in English and with a different standard of quality. If I remember correctly, it was a tasting of a bottle of Riesling from J.J.Prüm.
What were your expectations?
Konstantin Baum: I was there when the American video tasting pioneer Gary Vaynerchuk started 17 years ago. That interested me. After that, however, I never found any wine content on YouTube that grabbed me. At some point I thought to myself: I want to post content that I would like to see myself. My ambition is to make the world taste better. That means bringing the right wines into the country, selling them through my trade and putting them on the wine lists of the hotels and restaurants I work with. But I also want to make sure that people learn to taste better themselves. That's what it should be about. It should be independent. It should be exciting. It should be fun - and always educational. It's important to me not to produce any rubbish, but to impart knowledge.
You say the world should taste better. Doesn't it taste good?
Konstantin Baum: (Laughs) There's a lot of potential! I recently made a video in which I tasted wines from Amazon's own brand. There's definitely still room for improvement. A lot has happened here in Germany. But there's always room for improvement. How good something tastes doesn't just have to do with how good the wine itself is, but also how well you can handle it. So for me, it's not just about having the best wine in your glass, but also learning to appreciate the wine.
You started in English on YouTube. Why did you do that?
Konstantin Baum: I started the channel in German, but in 2020 I decided to do it in English. I've spent a lot of time in English-speaking countries, working and living there. Why should I only make it for people who speak German? Outside of Germany, Austria and Switzerland, there are hardly any people who understand me. And wine is a niche anyway. Why should I limit myself any further? It's the best way to reach a large audience.
You are one of the few YouTubers whose wine videos have had well over a million views. Were you surprised that your tasting of a 159-year-old port wine, for example, generated 3.4 million views?
Konstantin Baum: I don't make a video because I think it will be the most viral wine tasting video ever. But in just one day, the port wine video was viewed almost half a million times, which seemed pretty wild to me. But you can't plan something like that strategically. I've tasted very expensive and older wines and they haven't gone that viral. So I can't claim that every video has to go like this. But it has opened up the channel to many more viewers. The number of my followers doubled within a short space of time. The port wine video is still viewed a lot today. What fascinates me is that viewers have commented on it: 'I'm Muslim, I've never drunk alcohol, but I found the video totally interesting. That just makes me happy. I don't want to get everyone to drink alcohol. I want to convey what wine can be.
How do you make a video?
Konstantin Baum: I have six people working for me. I usually have the idea and my colleague Leon organises the wines. I buy almost all of them myself at retail prices - including the Pétrus for 3,000 euros that we made a video with. Then I sit down to write the script. I always write it myself. Sometimes I script the video all the way through, because it's important to captivate the audience very quickly. You have to get to the point. My videos run for 20 minutes - that's an investment these days. Leon researches the facts for me: What is there to say about the wines? But if they're blind tastings, I don't know anything about them.
Konstantin Baum MW
Guido BittnerIs that really the case?
KonstantinBaum: Yes, I only know the subject. Leon and sometimes my wife pack the wines in the sleeves. After that, I usually shoot alone. Then the files go to the editors. The material is cut, I get the rough version, then the correction loop follows. If everything is OK, the video is posted. Otherwise we work on it again.
How many takes do you shoot for a video?
Konstantin Baum: Sometimes it could be 30, 40, 50 takes. It's very important to me that the content comes across well. I have to get the intonation right - especially when there's humour involved. It has to be precise and very clean. For a video that's 20 minutes long, I need at least two to three hours just to shoot it.
Could you make a living from YouTube?
Konstantin Baum: I make a six-figure turnover with YouTube. So I could make a living from it. But I think it's good not to have to make a living from it, because otherwise it would take the fun out of it. I would think about how I could generate even more income from it. The amount sounds a lot, but I also have to pay my employees.
Would you describe yourself as an influencer?
Konstantin Baum: I wouldn't like to. It's just what people imagine. On YouTube, I'm a content creator. I try to inform viewers - not influence them. But that's the core of the term influencer.
Where are your boundaries?
Konstantin Baum: What I can't do is buy content. I wouldn't work with a winery, review their wines and say they're great. That would ruin a lot of things, because my work is based on trust. That's why what I do has to remain genuine. On the other hand, I also want to do a lot of crazy and a bit daft things. I'm not just interested in producing a video that generates maximum views, I want to do what I feel like doing. For example, I made a video about the Italian critic Luca Maroni because his reviews annoy me so much. Or I produced a video about Lightstrike, which is a light defect in wine. Nothing for the masses, but that's what interests me. But it's often precisely these topics that I'm asked about at events.
What kind of feedback do you get?
Konstantin Baum: If comments are negative, that's actually a good sign because the video has been widely distributed. My viewers are really nice people who sometimes offer constructive criticism. But that happens very rarely. There are always people who write something negative. But that doesn't hurt me. I'm no longer a 16-year-old tiktoker. But people do come up to me and say: "Hey, your videos have got me working for a winemaker now." A Masters of Wine colleague recently told me that her neighbour had started watching my videos. Since then, he has been buying a lot of wine and is really into it. Things like that stick with me. A few stupid comments in the comments don't bother me.
Konstantin Baum MW
Guido BittnerYou travel a lot internationally and see what's coming and going in the wine community world. What's coming?
Konstantin Baum: In the USA, it's the Riesling wines from New York State. They are totally under the radar in Germany. Even German Riesling winemakers have never ordered a wine from there. But it's extremely exciting what's happening there: The wines are super cool, fresh and precise with only 11.5 or 12 per cent alcohol. They are real cool climate wines, even compared to Germany. English sparkling wine is exciting for me, and I'll be making a video about it soon. I'm also thinking about doing a tasting with wines from Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, Sweden and Norway. There's a lot going on there.
What's going on?
Konstantin Baum: The clumsy, excessive winemaking of red wine, which is all about extraction and adding too much wood. A rethink is happening in many parts of the wine world. It's all about freshness and vibrancy now. I don't think the average consumer likes that because they prefer sweetness, richness and fat. But in the premium segment, it's definitely going in the other direction.
When does a topic become relevant for you?
Konstantin Baum: I follow a few relevant digital media. I also get contacted by winegrowers and wine regions with suggestions of what they produce and want to present to me. If it's really interesting, I follow it up and delve deeper. But I can only do that through the wine itself. I have to have tasted and been on site before I label something as a "new wave".
Would you start the Master of Wine programme in the same way again today?
Konstantin Baum: I don't know how I could have done it any other way. Not only because it has brought me to where I am now, but because this time has taught me an incredible amount. I learnt a lot about what wine means, how to taste it, but also an incredible amount about myself: how I deal with stress and pressure, what is important to me in life. I made great friends. This time has definitely changed me. The years have allowed me to mature. Like a good German Riesling.