Thursday, June 20, 2013

By pure chance we found this winery.  As we stood at the door trying to decide which direction to go next, a young man hopped out the door and invited us in for the tour.  Over the next hour we explored and learned about the really remarkable history of this place.  To summarize, a ridiculously ambitious and entrepreneurial Estonian built the winery from nothing about 103 years ago.  It flourished, they sold 50% of all the wine bought in Estonia, and he began to import the greatest liquors of the world. (I think he said they were the only European distributors for several of the current top-selling liquor brands: Jack Daniels among others)  Eventually it was lost to war, even taken directly over by the Russians to use for private housing.  It sat dormant for 60 years before another ambitious man took it over four years ago.  He, and his team of young, thoughtful, and passionate Estonians, are recreating the winery focusing on the history and that which can't be bought, the essence of Estonia in its purest form.  As of yet, they simply import wines and liquors from other countries, however, he was delighted to tell me that they are experimenting with grapes on the small Estonian island of Muhu, and hope to next year unveil the first domestically produced Estonian wine in over half a century.
We got the full tour of the old cellars, saw all of the historic items they have searched for, and even bought on the open market or in negotiations with private sellers.  As the current operator confided to me, about the most treasured piece in their museum below, the many decade-old Jamaican Rum bottle, he said, "We negotiated for months, and in the end, yes, I probably paid too much...but it is the history of this place that can't be replaced.  That is what is most important."
Was fascinating to listen to them, ask questions, and sample wines for the full hour.  We bought a bottle of rose, and you will see that in the 'Sorry Rudolph' post.  We wish them the best luck, and hope to buy a bottle in our home countries soon.







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