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Born in Munich in 1976, grew up in Barcelona and studied in Berlin: Cultural exchange has been an important part of Sascha Pablo Koch's life since his birth. He has been answering questions and solving problems for our Premium Members since April 2021, and is also active in business development for wein.plus in Spain.

Sascha Pablo Koch

An equally significant aspect of everyday life for him is his love of gastronomy: food and drink have been an important topic in his parents' home since he was a child. Cooking together and - at a certain age - having a glass of wine to go with it are among his fondest family memories.

After studying philosophy and Latin studies in Berlin - which he financed, of course, with gastro jobs - Sascha trained as a chef and patissier in Barcelona. He worked in gastronomy for a few years until he took over the cafeteria of the Goethe-Institut in Barcelona and ran it for three years. His interest in wine was sparked when selecting wines for the various events he organised there. He and his team organised wine tastings, concerts with wine accompaniment and a large wine festival of German vintners in cooperation with the German Wine Institute. There, more than 15 German wineries presented their wines to the Spanish public.

Finally, he moved across the Mediterranean to Mallorca, where he worked in various wineries and learned a lot about cultivation and development. Now he lives with his wife and two children in Torroella de Montgrí in northern Catalonia, about 100 kilometres from Barcelona. In addition to his work for wein.plus, Sascha is now completing an online training course to become a winemaker, with internships taking him to the La Rioja growing region.

You studied philosophy, winemaking is a craft. Have you ever encountered an aspect that touched on a philosophical question when working with wine in the wineries, in gastronomy or in private enjoyment?

Enjoying wine while philosophising is something the ancient Greeks taught us in their symposia! The philosophical contemplation that never ceases to amaze me, especially after I have seen the hard work in the vineyard and the wine cellar at close quarters, is the question of how a natural, agricultural product like the grape can achieve such a profound correspondence with human senses and needs through the miraculous process of fermentation: A food that, under certain conditions, can achieve an unparalleled precision, complexity and depth, describe a landscape in a sensual way and, finally, be the best companion of conviviality and joy, but also take some of the burden off the sad. Wine is a link between nature and spirit, as is man. It cannot be a coincidence that Noah was the first to plant a vineyard after the Flood.

Born in Munich, studied in Berlin, found a home in Spain: When you compare German and Spanish wine culture, what are the most interesting differences for you?

In Spain, wine is traditionally considered food, it is an essential part of the "dieta mediterranea" and is part of everyday life. Table wines are often still freely available in simple inns, which is not compatible with quality wines. I don't know this in Germany - in my German environment, wine was mainly served on special occasions. But the Spanish wine industry has been changing for some years: mass production is being abandoned in favour of quality. Hopefully, wine will still remain an uncomplicated everyday product!

You are training to be a winemaker and want to in the future manage your own vineyard. What should the wine you produce there taste like? What kind of character should it have?

I love taut, straightforward wines with nerve and bite, light red wines that you can also drink in the hot, Mediterranean summer. In the aftertaste, it should prepare the palate for the next sip, that's important: a "vin de soif", as the French say. If the dream of having my own vineyard should actually come true, I would love to contribute to the revival of the simple, unpretentious, yet authentic and honest village wines of Spain. Deep minerality and complexity - I love that too, but it's in a different league.

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