IN VINO PÄRITAS: Wongraven Wines – Nemesis DeVINa


Posted July 10, 2015 in Food & Drink, More

 

t 010- Stephan Presser Photography

Words: Pär Strömberg

Image: Stephan Presser, Wongraven Wines and private

It’s spring, Sunday evening and I have just finished the birthday celebration for my three-year-old son Loke when I’m heading towards Nalen and an evening in darkness with the Norwegian black metal act Satyricon. Worlds collide on occasion, but it keeps me on edge and Satyricon always lives up to their reputation.

Formed in the early 90s, Satyricon are one of the most influential Norwegian bands on the black metal scene. They have always had their focus on the music and not on the violence and bullshit that surrounded the scene for so long

Many members have passed through their ranks, but the core has always been the same -_blast-beat drummer Frost and front-man Satyr, aka Sigurd Wongraven.

With eight studio albums behind them, they’ve just released Live at the Opera, an album recorded back in 2013 at Den Norske Opera & Ballett in Oslo, where they were joined by the 55-strong Norwegian National Opera Chorus as part of the Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival.

As a long-time fan, I have witnessed their live performances on many occasions but this night is a little special. A few years back I came across a bottle of wine that moved me, encapsulating as it did the very essence of my dear passions in life – music, wine and art. This bottle was not a celebrity wine/publicity stunt by a random artist or band – this was a real vision by a serious contender on the wine market. And this evening I’m about to meet the man behind that bottle, Mr. Wongraven himself for the first time and ask him about our shared interests and passions.

As much as I would love to ask him about his contribution to the world of music, our shared background as skateboarders and all other talents he possesses, this conversation is destined to be all about wine.

After the gig, I stick around waiting for Sigurd to get changed, and when the door opens, he invites me to his suite. He offers me some champagne and we clink our glasses with a divine 1998 *Clos des Goisses* and talk away a few hours, beyond midnight and ”into the dawn of a new age.”

What follows is an excerpt of our conversation that evening, a discussion which has continued via e-mail.

t 018- Stephan Presser Photography

Where did your wine interest start, and what was the first bottle that made you think: Aha! This is what wine is all about?

There was never a specific point. The first bottle of wine that I seriously enjoyed was in Milan in 1997, then there were some bottles and tastings here and there that blew me away in the following years, and in 2005 it started getting serious.

Do you have an education in winemaking or a sommelier qualification or suchlike?

I have the WSET Advanced Certificate and I finished the WSET Diploma in 2012, but I still have exams left. There are many of them you have to do.

Wongraven Wines now stands as producer on most of your wines, but are you working with any specific producers next to that? I heard about your collaborating with Von Winning for your Riesling for instance, and Baron-Fuenté for your champagne.

Wongraven Wines is the production company for all my wines, except for the champagne. The latter is an exception because it is not possible to be a registered producer in Champagne if you make wine elsewhere under the same name. I have projects coming from the vineyards of Von Winning in Germany and Ferdinando Principiano in Barolo (Monforte), to name a couple.

You worked with Luca Roagna on your first Wongraven Wines, why did that collaboration stop?

I now work with people where there is mutual loyalty and I’m very pleased with that. I wish the best to those I have worked with in the past.

Any dream producer you’d like to work with?

I would love to work with a top producer in Burgundy one day.

You blend a lot of your wines yourself I understand, what is the hardest task in that process? As a musician and composer, do you think you have any advantages when it comes to blending your wines?

I blend all my wines myself, and anything else is unthinkable. That is what I do. If you drink a bottle of my wine, you can rest assured that it is my blend and my fingerprint. I am lucky to work with great winemakers who give me great raw material to work with.

The hardest part is to make a good blend from a poor vintage, or where the supplies of good grape material is limited or completely overpriced. My experience as a composer and problem-solver, my experience from mixing and producing records and my sensitivity and attention to detail have been very helpful in developing my abilities in blending in wine.

You have received numerous good reviews for your wines, do you have a clear picture of your average consumer?

Everyone, but mostly people who have an above average interest in wine and food. My band sells about 15,000 records per year in Norway. My wine portfolio sells more than 200,000 liters per year in Norway. From that, you can conclude that most consumers of Wongraven Wines are not rock fans. They are wine and food people. Me,I am both a rock and wine fan.

As a musician and person from the darker side in life, have you ever had any difficulties among wine makers? In Italy in particular, many are religious and sometimes very superstitious.

Not really. The only obstacles I have faced are similar to what anyone else would face. I do recall one importer in Italy being very Catholic who was unwilling to distribute my Barolo in Italy. Catholics are pretty much against everyone, so I am not too troubled by that. Any person who is part of a religious movement that’s protecting child molesters does not deserve my attention.

Which of your wines are you personally most fond of? And what do you suggest combining it with?

I like all of them, otherwise I would not put them out there. Two days ago I had my Unione Barolo Riserva 2007. An amazing wine from very old vines with eight years of maturation. Silky elegance and like a meal in itself due to its complexity and finesse.

Yesterday I had my Morgenstern Riesling by itself with some friends visiting and it can be enjoyed without food like we did or paired with all kinds of seafood or Asian food, which dry Rieslings go so well with. Right now I’m sitting with a glass of my Alleanza Langhe Rosso because we baked pizza for dinner tonight. It has a juicy, fruit-driven style which makes it great for Italian dishes and its fresh style makes it enjoyable once you have finished dinner.

Will we get to see any of the Wongraven Wines in the Swedish Systembolaget sometime soon again?

Yes, they will most likely be back this year. I will work on getting a new and strong importer and prioritise developing in the Swedish market. No-one thought I would do well in the Norwegian market, but I did, and I plan to do well in Sweden too. I get along with Sweden and the Swedes and that is why this is going to be good.

What is the single best bottle you have ever had, where was it and who did you share it with?

Probably Dom Perignon 1969 which I once shared with a bunch of collectors in Oslo, and which I also had at a later date for one of my birthdays. I also remember fondly a bottle of Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Blanchot 1993 which I shared with Norway’s biggest Raveneau fan, the old cross country skiing hero Thomas Alsgaard.

What wine is always on your rider list?

Champagne. No specific one, as promoters always fail to get the right ones. We have to list multiple options and usually some of it is right.

Do Frost and the other band members, or indeed any other musicians in your genre, share your interest in wine?

Frost is interested in wine and knows quite a lot, but first and foremost he is a beer man. There are wine lovers in all communities.

What wine and producer reflects black metal the most?

Wongraven Wines. Who else would it be?

Do you have any region, vineyard, single wine and year you consider your absolute favourite?

I like Piedmont, Burgundy and Champagne to name a few. In Piedmont I love 1961 of the old classic vintages. Some of the producers I like are Giuseppe Rinaldi, Giacomo Conterno, Bruno Giacosa, Giuseppe Mascarello, Ferdinando Principiano to name a few of them. In Champagne I like mostly small growers, but of course I acknowledge the greatness of the prestige wines of the big Champagne houses.

In Burgundy and Chablis up north there are so many, but the more elegant the better. Cathiard is insanely good. Germany has awesomeness in the shape of producers like Von Winning for the dry wines and Egon Müller for the off-dry and sweet wines.

You seem to be a man of many talents, skateboarding, music, wine… anything else you like to share with our readers?

I take great pleasure in having a lot of variety in my life. I go all-in on everything I do and I always have. You can add to that list a love for driving on the racetrack. Gislaved in Sweden is a great track by the way.

t 021- Stephan Presser Photography

Any news on the release of your wine book? What is the structure, title and concept of the book?

I started working on it in 2008, but it won’t be finished anytime soon!

 

As a family man and father, has your vision of black metal music shifted since fatherhood?

Not really. I just need to start rehearsing earlier in the day and I miss my son when I’m out traveling. My vision of black metal is still the same. He likes black metal too.

 

Finally, if you were a believer in such things, what wine do you think Jesus turned his water into? And conversely, what is Satan’s preference in your book?

They are both symbolic creatures and last time I checked, symbolic creatures do not possess the ability to drink. If for a second we imagine that Jesus is some kind of divine being who actually exists, we can imagine that he would drink Prosecco or some garbage like that.

 

 

 

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