EatBerlin Festival: Swiss Wine at Nobelhart & Schmutzig

14. Dec 2019

Domaine Julien Guillon is visiting Germany for the first time

The director of this festival isn’t a fan of natural wines, or at the very least is highly skeptical of them. Wagner, the owner here at Nobelhart & Schmutzig, doesn’t much like absolutes. He’s ready to jump into bed with anybody. But he can understand why people don’t like a lot of these off-kilter wines. It’s no different for him. “Vin Natur” knocked the slippers off the wine world. It took what was already a bewildering diversity of grape varieties, regions and styles and grew the boundaries. Even for traditional and conventional winemakers, it promoted a certain consciousness more typically seen in design and artisanal craftsmanship. Sometimes a fresh wind really does blow.

Scene: Billy Wagner, early 2019, Paris. Time to catch a meal at Septime. His companion told him she’d heard of this new estate. From Valais, Switzerland. Through luck or fate, one of their wines happened to be on the wine list. From a vintner that you couldn’t possibly know, since this was his first vintage. Julien Guillon. We ordered a bottle from the list.

A Chasselas unlike any other. It’s hard to describe it, even now, but maybe battery acid is closest to the mark. Pure electricity.

Billy Wagner used to be a sommelier (Rutz). Now he drinks for fun, not professionally. And primarily in his free time. You could say, only when he’s got something special in his glass. A wine unlike any that had come before. Big words, for a big experience. The second vintage was just as amazing as the first. And we now intend to share that with you.

When it comes to wine, Switzerland is normally arch-conservative. It’s about Vaud or Valais, with thoughts of Bordeaux. And perhaps Burgundy and Rhone too. What’s it’s not about is ‘natural from Switzerland.’ Fine, there are a couple of contenders (we’re looking at you, Markus Ruch), but not really much beyond that on the radar.

And now all of a sudden here’s a young vintner clearly channeling Rudolf Steiner with unvarnished, unadorned wines (keyword: low intervention). Someone just at the start of his career. Someone who deviates from the curve in that remarkable way that is only possible in a place like Switzerland. Someone who has already produced a few wines that Wagner hasn’t yet drunk. And for a guy who’s pulled his share of corks, that’s an outright challenge.

Besides, we love his radical approach to letting wine do its thing. And so we’re proud to be the first ones to bring him not just to Berlin, but to Germany itself. There will, as always, be an accompanying prix fixe menu from Micha Schäfer. This is perhaps the most interesting time of year to dine at Nobelhart. By February 22, everything is going to taste old. The cellar, storehouse and sheds are usually running pretty low by that point. Generally speaking, the only thing left to eat at that time of year are cabbage and turnips. And despite it all you can bet that Micha Schäfer will plate a remarkable set of tastes to make the evening special. You won’t get food like this anywhere else. Precisely because everything is old. He’s working with tastes that reflect Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in the dead of winter.

If you’re not a fan of natural wine, then pick another evening. But if you’re open minded, then lay down the 270 euros. Please let us know about any allergies or food intolerances. Spots are limited, so grab yours stat. Please note that the evening will be conducted in French, but we’ll have someone on hand to interpret everything into German.

Reservations should be made via the Eat! Berlin festival.

Time: Saturday, 22 February 2020, 7 pm | Swiss wine evening at Nobelhart & Schmutzig with vintner Julien Guillon | Prix fixe menu from Micha Schäfer | 270.00 bucks per person, all inclusive

Place: Speiselokal Nobelhart & Schmutzig | Friedrichstraße 218 | 10969 Berlin

Contact us with questions directly at or by phone at +49 30 259 40610 | You can fax us too at +49 30 259 40611 (if that’s your fetish, baby.)

 

EatBerlin Festival: Swiss Wine at Nobelhart & Schmutzig

14. Dec 2019

Domaine Julien Guillon is visiting Germany for the first time

The director of this festival isn’t a fan of natural wines, or at the very least is highly skeptical of them. Wagner, the owner here at Nobelhart & Schmutzig, doesn’t much like absolutes. He’s ready to jump into bed with anybody. But he can understand why people don’t like a lot of these off-kilter wines. It’s no different for him. “Vin Natur” knocked the slippers off the wine world. It took what was already a bewildering diversity of grape varieties, regions and styles and grew the boundaries. Even for traditional and conventional winemakers, it promoted a certain consciousness more typically seen in design and artisanal craftsmanship. Sometimes a fresh wind really does blow.

Scene: Billy Wagner, early 2019, Paris. Time to catch a meal at Septime. His companion told him she’d heard of this new estate. From Valais, Switzerland. Through luck or fate, one of their wines happened to be on the wine list. From a vintner that you couldn’t possibly know, since this was his first vintage. Julien Guillon. We ordered a bottle from the list.

A Chasselas unlike any other. It’s hard to describe it, even now, but maybe battery acid is closest to the mark. Pure electricity.

Billy Wagner used to be a sommelier (Rutz). Now he drinks for fun, not professionally. And primarily in his free time. You could say, only when he’s got something special in his glass. A wine unlike any that had come before. Big words, for a big experience. The second vintage was just as amazing as the first. And we now intend to share that with you.

When it comes to wine, Switzerland is normally arch-conservative. It’s about Vaud or Valais, with thoughts of Bordeaux. And perhaps Burgundy and Rhone too. What’s it’s not about is ‘natural from Switzerland.’ Fine, there are a couple of contenders (we’re looking at you, Markus Ruch), but not really much beyond that on the radar.

And now all of a sudden here’s a young vintner clearly channeling Rudolf Steiner with unvarnished, unadorned wines (keyword: low intervention). Someone just at the start of his career. Someone who deviates from the curve in that remarkable way that is only possible in a place like Switzerland. Someone who has already produced a few wines that Wagner hasn’t yet drunk. And for a guy who’s pulled his share of corks, that’s an outright challenge.

Besides, we love his radical approach to letting wine do its thing. And so we’re proud to be the first ones to bring him not just to Berlin, but to Germany itself. There will, as always, be an accompanying prix fixe menu from Micha Schäfer. This is perhaps the most interesting time of year to dine at Nobelhart. By February 22, everything is going to taste old. The cellar, storehouse and sheds are usually running pretty low by that point. Generally speaking, the only thing left to eat at that time of year are cabbage and turnips. And despite it all you can bet that Micha Schäfer will plate a remarkable set of tastes to make the evening special. You won’t get food like this anywhere else. Precisely because everything is old. He’s working with tastes that reflect Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in the dead of winter.

If you’re not a fan of natural wine, then pick another evening. But if you’re open minded, then lay down the 270 euros. Please let us know about any allergies or food intolerances. Spots are limited, so grab yours stat. Please note that the evening will be conducted in French, but we’ll have someone on hand to interpret everything into German.

Reservations should be made via the Eat! Berlin festival.

Time: Saturday, 22 February 2020, 7 pm | Swiss wine evening at Nobelhart & Schmutzig with vintner Julien Guillon | Prix fixe menu from Micha Schäfer | 270.00 bucks per person, all inclusive

Place: Speiselokal Nobelhart & Schmutzig | Friedrichstraße 218 | 10969 Berlin

Contact us with questions directly at or by phone at +49 30 259 40610 | You can fax us too at +49 30 259 40611 (if that’s your fetish, baby.)