Petz 2023, Oliver Zeter, Pfalz

Aromas of plum, black cherry, and blackberry, alongside delicate spicy notes and licorice. On the palate, the wine has good structure with intense fruit flavours that reflect the bouquet. Fine tannins with both fruity and spicy notes lead to a long finish.

Oliver Zeter, working side by side with both his father and brother, first made his name as an importer of fine wines. From the start, Zeter was well positioned to move into the ranks of the producers. Today, Zeter currently produces wine from grapes grown on roughly 20 hectares of prime Pfalz vineyards. Six of those hectares he cultivates himself, the remainder are tended by long-time partners. While his plots can be found in vineyards throughout the entire winegrowing region, the winery itself is seated in Neustadt, in the heart of the Pfalz.

The drinking bear that adorns the label comes from the quill of a well known Pfalz artist named Otto Dill, a friend of Oliver’s great grandfather Walter Baer (German for bear). On one occasion in 1933 Walter was unable to meet his friends for a regular ‘glass of wine or two’ and the artist sent the sketch on a postcard to his friend Walter the ‘bear’, and the postcard was signed by all the friends present that day. Oliver has the postcard in his kitchen. He declared that the bear had been with him all his life and when he made wine he would go on the label.

The Petz Red Wine is a field blend, where Syrah and Merlot grapes from vineyards in Edenkoben and Hambach are harvested and fermented together. After pressing, the wine aged for 12 months in wooden barrels and was bottled unfiltered.