Interview With A Winemaker – Axel Kroitzsch

Wine isn’t just made, it’s crafted by the unwavering expertise of a Winemaker, sometimes old traditions are passed down by generations and on other occasions, new people venture into the industry, introducing us to new creations, this series of Winemaker Interviews will help you uncover the vast world and skills of how the artists passionate about wine make the world a bubbly place.

In this article we speak with Axel Kroitzsch, a Home Winemaker from British Columbia, Canada, let’s discover a little about his time in the Wine Industry.

It’s Great To Speak With You, Axel, Tell Us About Yourself

“I have been making wine for over 40 years. I initially started making wine because when I came to Canada in 1976 the wine here was so bad that I would not even use it for cooking. I knew that I could do better than that. I started on a more formal way of making wine in a BCAWA club in the early 90s.

Later in the mid 90’s I joined the BC guild of wine judges. Over the years I have competed both on the Provincial level where I won the Provincial annual competition more than 10 years and also in the National competition which I have won twice. In their historical cumulative data, I have won more medals than anyone else in Canada.”

How Did You Become Involved In The Wine Industry?

“For me, the hardest thing has always been to source the best grapes possible. To that end, I joined a buying group with which we imported about 55 tons per year of premier grapes from Washington State and California at its height. Of course, we also sourced grapes within Canada, mostly from the Okanagan Valley which has seen a consistent increase in quality of grapes over the years.”

As A Winemaker, What Has Been Your Hardest Obstacle To Overcome In Producing Wine?

“Because I am not a commercial producer, financial return is not my main goal but strictly quality. For that reason, my way of gauging is very different from a commercial producer. I have the luxury of leaving a wine in a brand new French oak barrel for two or three years if the quality warrants that. I also believe in bottle ageing. Personally, we are currently drinking wines from 2006 to 2012. In my opinion today wine gets drunk often too early because few people still have larger wine cellars. Mine currently contains about 3,000 bottles.”

What Part Of The Wine Making Process Do You Enjoy The Most?

“I use making wines as a relaxation from my day to day stress in my business. Since this work is mostly mental, I really appreciate the physical nature of winemaking which I find to be a very creative process. The other aspect I really enjoy is the blending and finishing of wine. This is where the art is. Sometimes I have as many as 40 wine glasses on the table when I try new blends, especially of Bordeaux style wines with 5 different grape varieties. I then create grids with different percentages of the varietals until I have the most successful blends. The final judge is generally my wife who picks her favorite from the last three. Lastly, I really enjoy the friendships I have developed over the years with many different winemakers. I have visited some of the best wineries in the world and have always found them to be extremely friendly as soon as they established that I know what I am talking about. Often that has led to hours in the wine cellar exchanging information and blending or sampling from the barrels. Here in Canada I now teach courses in judging to transmit the knowledge to the next generation. All this has made wine a lifelong satisfying journey for me.”

Thank you Axel, for sharing your words, knowledge and experience with us and we at Glass of Bubbly wish you the very best for the future!