WORKING -- GERHARD ZIEMER

story by Young Chang; photo by Greg Fry

HE IS

A wine connoisseur

SIP, SWISH, SPIT

One of the most difficult parts of Gerhard Ziemer’s job is holding

back. He sips wine, swishes it around in his mouth and spits it out. As

someone who buys and sells wine at Rolf’s Wine and Spirits of Newport, he

has to be sure of two things: that he can drive back to his Costa Mesa

home sober, and that he is alert enough to judge the value of wine.

“It takes a lot of willpower sometimes to not drink some of these

delicious wines,” said Ziemer, 36. “If you’re going to be professional

and objective, you need to be very strict.”

ZEN AND THE ART OF WINE-TASTING

He started learning about wines 10 years ago. Ziemer knows how wine is

made, though he would not want to try it at home. He has tasted countless

types of chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir and Chianti. He has

visited wineries, wholesale seminars and, of course, Napa Valley.

An employee at Rolf’s for 3 1/2 years, he said experience has given

him opinions on his likes and dislikes.

“It’s a wonderful combination of intellectualism and hedonism,” Ziemer

said. “A good wine is delicious, interesting, and it’s challenging to

understand what’s going on.”

TASTES AND SMELLS

Every week, Ziemer samples about 100 to 300 wines -- at the retail

store, through industry tasting events and during visits to wineries. He

determines which ones taste “correct” and good. Then he thinks about the

price -- some are very expensive, some are less than one would expect for

their taste.

Ziemer said it is important to stay focused and catch the nuances of

different tastes.

“If you try literally 60 to 75 wines a day, your mouth gets tired,” he

added. “You need to be full of concentration because you’re focusing on

one, very small part of the body -- the mouth, nose, the palette.”

When asked if he considers himself a wine expert, Ziemer -- who also

knows the temperatures and humidity levels involved in storing wines --

pauses.

“I don’t want to sound like I’m there yet, but I’m aiming at that,” he

said.