I’ll Drink to That!: This Conversation with Meike Näkel Has A Terrifying Turn

A new episode of I’ll Drink to That! has been released. Episode 501 features Meike Näkel. Meike and her sister Dörte run  Weingut Meyer-Näkel, a red wine specialist in the Ahr Region of Germany.

It is commonplace for multigenerational winemaking families to speak about deep roots in a region. It is rare for those roots to literally save the life of the speaker. But that’s what happened when, during a gigantic flood that killed several of their neighbors, Meike and her sister grabbed onto a tree that had been planted by their great-grandfather. Holding onto that specific tree is what kept the two women from being swept away by massive floodwaters that reached 33 feet high. Many of the surrounding trees were knocked over by the force of the water, but Meike and Dörte held onto a tree planted by their ancestor that stayed rooted in the ground. “It was a very old tree which had extremely deep roots,” Meike explains in this interview. “Perhaps our great-grandfather planted that tree just for us to grab one hundred years later.” Meike is able to tell this story today because she survived the worst natural disaster in the recorded history of Germany. Sadly, many other people did not survive.

Meike is a survivor but also an innovator, and this interview chronicles both the sudden and harrowing flood of 2021, as well as the incremental changes of a thoughtful winemaker trying to refine her craft in the winery and the work in the vines. Meike’s family winery was already known as one of the top producers of dry red wine when she and her sister took over the decision-making, but increased awareness of possible techniques in the winery, as well as the advent of climate change in the vineyard, prompted Meike to make changes. The wines being made at Meyer-Näkel today taste very different than the wines produced there in the 1990s, yet are equally as lauded. Meike is clear in this interview about how today’s winemaking challenges are different than those of the past, and her outline of those differences serves as a phenomenal guide to the world of German Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir), both historically and now.

Episode 501 is available on many listening platforms, including at these links:

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

I’ll Drink to That!, one of the world’s top wine podcasts, is hosted by Levi Dalton. Levi has had a long career working as a sommelier in some of the most distinguished and acclaimed dining rooms in America. He has served wine to guests of Restaurant Daniel, Masa, and Alto, all in Manhattan. Levi has also contributed articles on wine themes to publications such as The Art of Eating, Wine & Spirits magazine, Bon Appetit online, and Eater NY. Check out his pictures on Instagram.

Photo of Meike Näkel by Peter Bender.

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