For almost two decades, the name Oliver Zeter has been synonymous with world-class Sauvignon Blanc. The far-sighted winemaker from the Palatinate, with the distinctive bear label, has given the variety a new home by carefully studying the local terroirs and clones and defining suitable locations. Today, the estate is one of the established names among Germany's top wineries. Clearly due to, but not only with, its expressive Sauvignons. When Oliver Zeter, the "oldest young winemaker in the Palatinate," as he self-deprecatingly puts it, switched from wine trading to winemaking at the age of 40, there was practically nothing: no winery, no vines, no technology. But there was an idea - and it was a good one! On his travels to South Africa, the USA, Chile, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, the Loire, and Bordeaux, he was repeatedly fascinated by a grape variety that at the time was not known for producing origin wines. It was the versatility in terms of style and aromas that impressed Zeter so much about Sauvignon Blanc. And since there was nothing he had to consider, he boldly started with an underdog. That was in 2007. A few years later, Oliver Zeter greets his guests with a firm handshake, preferably in front of his "Domaine" on the Haardt, a district of Neustadt an der Weinstraße. The impressive building from 1922, constructed from the same light sandstone that also dominates the vineyards, has been extensively renovated and given a touch of elegance. 400 meters away, the legendary regulars' table met, where Prof. Otto Dill drew the bear caricature of Zeter's grandfather - named Walter Baer - which is now immortalized on the label. From here, the view sweeps far over the sea of Palatinate vines, aptly called the "Balcony of the Palatinate." The diversity of the mild climate and fertile soils of the region also shapes Zeter's approach. As a collector of locations, he is excited by the various microclimates between Ungstein in the far north and Appenhofen in the south, to...