5: Building Wine Bridges: Mason Washington & Weingut Riffel - TRINKTalks

Welcome to Episode 5 of TRINKTalks. In today’s episode Paula and Valerie talk to three guests, Mason Washington, Founder of LELIYG, along with Carolin and Erik Riffel of Weingut Riffel located in Bingen am Rhein, in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Today’s conversation introduces the Riffel winery and its wines as well as the heartwarming story of Mason’s collaboration with the Riffels', in their journey to create  ⁠LELIYG Binger Kirchberg Riesling Kabinett⁠. Now available in several States in the US, find out more about this team effort that cemented a true friendship.

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⁠Mason Washington⁠, CSW is a sommelier & the  proprietor of ⁠LELIYG (Live Everyday Like It's Your Glass)⁠. Born and raised in Fayetteville NC, Mason gravitated toward the wine industry by working in various country clubs and hotels. As his interest grew in wine, his passion for Germany grew. He set his sites on crafting wine that was not just delicious but also biodynamic, certified organic, and vegan. The 2022 Kirchberg Kabinett vintage is a wine that Mason personally helped bottle and harvest and it went on to be rated 94 points by James Suckling! 

In 2005⁠Erik & Carolin Riffel ⁠took over⁠Riffel winery⁠, creating the highest quality wines letting the terroir speak for itself. These wines are biodynamic, certified organic & vegan. 

To read more about the wines of Alto Adige, don’t miss Ian D’Agata’s (one of TRINK Magazine’s contributors) article titled:⁠Understanding Alto Adige-Südtirol⁠

ABOUT TRINK 

TRINKTalks has been brought to you by⁠TRINK Magazine⁠, an independent quarterly digital publication exploring the “German-speaking wines” of Austria, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland. 

Founders Paula Redes Sidore, based in Germany, and Valerie Kathawala, in New York, were brought together by their shared love for these wines and the conviction that a deep understanding of the cultural contexts in which they are embedded is essential to appreciating them fully. 

TRINK launched in 2020. From the outset, their mission has been to deepen the understanding of how wine intersects with and impacts the narrative, culture, history, and geography of the European spaces where German is common cultural currency. 

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ABOUT THE HOSTS OF TRINK TALKS

⁠Valerie Kathawala⁠ specializes in the wine cultures, traditions, and innovations of Germany, Austria, South Tyrol, and Switzerland, as well as those closer to her home in New York City. Her work appears in the pages of⁠ Noble Rot⁠,⁠ The Art of Eating⁠,⁠ SevenFifty Daily⁠,⁠ Meininger’s Wine Business International,⁠⁠ Pipette⁠,.css-j9qmi7{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;font-weight:700;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:2.8rem;width:100%;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:start;justify-content:start;padding-left:5rem;}@media only screen and (max-width: 599px){.css-j9qmi7{padding-left:0;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;}}.css-j9qmi7 svg{fill:#27292D;}.css-j9qmi7 .eagfbvw0{-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;color:#27292D;}