CRAFTSWOMAN LOTTE WOLF LEAVES A LOT BEHIND, INCLUDING HER OWN WINE

Talented vinologist Lotte Wolf only turned 32. She was born in a squat in Hilversum and died unexpectedly at home in Amsterdam last September. She did not inherit wine, but she turned out to have an excellent nose for it "when I have tasted a wine, I remember it" and developed into a respected and beloved sommelier. Several starred restaurants ran away with her, since 2015 it was hotel The Grand and restaurant Bridges where she worked as wine director. On her website LOTTEWOLF.NL, she describes how she got to know the gastronomic life when she bluffed her way to a job at the four-star hotel Portage during a backpacking trip through New Zealand. There, she learned all about New Zealand wines. Back in the Netherlands, she got to work as an assistant sommelier at Jamie Oliver's restaurant Fifteen in Amsterdam. Seinpost in The Hague followed and, in the meantime, she got her vinologist's diploma, being the youngest student ever. At 23, she became head sommelier at Sergio Herman's Oud Sluis in Zeeland. There, she poured as many as 600 bottles a year from Swartland, her favourite wine region in South Africa, she told Winelife in an interview a year ago. Because the wines from there had that "mischievousness" she loved. She became a Swartland cowboy herself: she started growing her own grapes on a vineyard. Curious about the natural farming process, it necessarily had to be organic, without the use of chemicals and pesticides. Her first wines under the Touch of Dutch label were ready this year: Onkruid vergaan Nie from semillon, King Arthur from grenache and Die Bastaard from mourvèdre and cinsault grapes. They were immediately acclaimed. "I am as happy when I am in the vineyard in rain boots as when I am in my suit in the restaurant," she told Het Parool in an interview. Not only because of her good work, but also because of the many nominations she received from colleagues, Lotte was on the WINELIFE Hotlist of influencers in the wine world four times since 2013. Recently, her colleagues have given her the credit she is due, shared experiences and no wine has been opened without thinking of this hugely likeable professional woman. In the wine world, she has forever taken her place.

Read more news in WINELIFE #55. Order it here!

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