Interview with Christopher Streeck

What makes the topic of wine particularly special for you?

Wine is a fascination. What excites me most is the diversity of wines in this world. I could taste a different wine every day and would never finish in my life. That's why I trained to become a sommelier, to gain even more detailed knowledge.

What is your favourite European wine?

My current favourite wine is the Phelan Segur 2014, Saint Estephe AOP Bordeaux.

With plethora of European wine regions, do you have a favourite?

That can change from vintage to vintage. At the moment, it's the Left Bank in Bordeaux and the Rheingau for Rieslings.

What role does the topic of sustainability play in the context of wine, especially regarding your wine selection? Has your offer changed or will it change regarding this topic in recent years?

The topic of sustainability is very relevant. Both from the customer's point of view and from the winemakers' side. It is right to look ahead and act with foresight. We want to continue to profit from viniculture for the next 100 years.

It needs to be communicated to end consumers more quickly in order to influence purchasing behaviour. We are doing our bit by explaining and communicating the topic.

Beyond the topic of sustainability, what other topics/trends/problems are you currently confronted with in the context of your wine department?

We are currently working on offering customers more organically produced wines. Understanding the slightly higher price for a bottle is our challenge. The current trends are clearly alcohol-free wines and regionality again.

You were a visitor to EUROVINO yourself – in your opinion, to what extent does EUROVINO offer suggestions and solutions for these topics/problems?

The topic organic can of course be played and presented very nicely at such a trade fair. The same applies to alcohol-free. Retailers can take a look at the variety of options, and there would be space to present them.

Now you are a member of the EUROVINO advisory board. Two questions in this context:

What excites you about this new task?

I hope that I can demonstrate the interests of stationary retailers through my participation. Conversely, I would like to encourage even more retailers to visit the trade fair, as this is becoming increasingly important for food retailers.

And why is EUROVINO important for the industry as a yet young trade fair format?

As a relevant addition to the existing trade fairs, EUROVINO is a real enrichment, as it concentrates on German and European growing regions. Accordingly, I can split my schedule and trade fair plan and concentrate on certain regions as a retailer at EUROVINO. In this context, I am of course delighted when many of my retailer colleagues make EUROVINO their number one priority.