A Cellargal Wine Pairing
Inspired by Letters to a Young Poet
A Collection of Letters Written by the Poet Rainer Maria Rilke
to Franz Kappus, 1903-1908
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| http://www.amazon.com/Letters-Young-Rainer-Maria-Rilke/dp/0393310396 |
This lineup for this tasting is inspired by the concepts of origin and context - the poet's Austrian-Hungarian origin, the traveling origin of the letters, and the changing context of the correspondants. As we taste these wines and reflect on Rilke's advice to young Kappus, mainly, to trust his inner judgement and ignore criticism, we can think about how this can be applied to wine appreciation at the personal level and the development of one's own palate.
Who cares what the critics/wine snobs/self-professed experts say:
TRUST YOUR PALATE
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Latitude 50 N Sekt Trocken Rosé (Germany)
Portugeiser, Dornfelder and Pinot Noir
The Fourth LetterWritten in Worpswede, Germany on 16 July, 1903
The Fourth LetterWritten in Worpswede, Germany on 16 July, 1903
2009 Domaine Stephane Magnien Bourgogne Passetoutgrains "Cuvée Densité" (France)
Gamay, Pinot Noir
The First LetterWritten in Paris, France on 17 February 1903
The Tenth LetterWritten in Paris, France on 26 December, 1908
Antano Milziade Umbria Rosso IGT (Italy)
Gamay, Pinot Noir
The First LetterWritten in Paris, France on 17 February 1903
The Tenth LetterWritten in Paris, France on 26 December, 1908
Antano Milziade Umbria Rosso IGT (Italy)
50% Sangiovese, 50% Sagrantino
The Second LetterWritten in Viareggio, Italy on 5 April, 1903
The Third LetterWritten in Viareggio, Italy on 23 April, 1903
The Fifth LetterWritten in Rome, Italy on 29 October, 1903
The Sixth LetterWritten in Rome, Italy on 23 December, 1903
The Seventh LetterWritten in Rome, Italy on 14 May, 1904
**
"Read as little as possible of literary criticism. Such things are either partisan opinions, which have become petrified and meaningless, hardened and empty of life, or else they are clever word-games, in which one view wins, and tomorrow the opposite view. Works of art are of an infinite solitude, and no means of approach is so useless as criticism. Only love can touch and hold them and be fair to them. Always trust yourself and your own feeling, as opposed to argumentation, discussions, or introductions of that sort; if it turns out that you are wrong, then the natural growth of your inner life will eventually guide you to other insights. Allow your judgments their own silent, undisturbed development, which, like all progress, must come from deep within and cannot be forced or hastened. Everything is gestation and then birthing. To let each impression and each embryo of a feeling come to completion, entirely in itself, in the dark, in the unsayable, the unconscious, beyond the reach of one's own understanding, and with deep humility and patience to wait for the hour when a new clarity is born: this alone is what it means to live as an artist: in understanding as in creating."
(from the Third Letter)
**
Background:
Letters to a Young Poet is a compilation of letters by Rainer Maria Rilke. It consists of 10 letters written to a young man (Franz Kappus) considering entering the German military. Rilke was born in Prague, capital of Bohemia (then part of Austria-Hungary; now the Czech Republic). A Bohemian–Austrian poet, he is considered one of the most significant poets in the German language. His haunting images focus on the difficulty of communion with the ineffable in an age of disbelief, solitude, and profound anxiety: themes that tend to position him as a transitional figure between the traditional and the Modernist poets.
The letters were originally written to Kappus, a 19-year-old student at the Military Academy of Vienna, of which Rilke was an alumnus. Discouraged by the prospect of military life, Kappus began to send his poetry to the 27-year-old Rilke, seeking both literary criticism and career advice. Their correspondence lasted from 1902 to 1908. In 1929, three years after Rilke's death, Kappus assembled and published the ten letters.
(source: Wikipedia)
The Second LetterWritten in Viareggio, Italy on 5 April, 1903
The Third LetterWritten in Viareggio, Italy on 23 April, 1903
The Fifth LetterWritten in Rome, Italy on 29 October, 1903
The Sixth LetterWritten in Rome, Italy on 23 December, 1903
The Seventh LetterWritten in Rome, Italy on 14 May, 1904
**
"Read as little as possible of literary criticism. Such things are either partisan opinions, which have become petrified and meaningless, hardened and empty of life, or else they are clever word-games, in which one view wins, and tomorrow the opposite view. Works of art are of an infinite solitude, and no means of approach is so useless as criticism. Only love can touch and hold them and be fair to them. Always trust yourself and your own feeling, as opposed to argumentation, discussions, or introductions of that sort; if it turns out that you are wrong, then the natural growth of your inner life will eventually guide you to other insights. Allow your judgments their own silent, undisturbed development, which, like all progress, must come from deep within and cannot be forced or hastened. Everything is gestation and then birthing. To let each impression and each embryo of a feeling come to completion, entirely in itself, in the dark, in the unsayable, the unconscious, beyond the reach of one's own understanding, and with deep humility and patience to wait for the hour when a new clarity is born: this alone is what it means to live as an artist: in understanding as in creating."
(from the Third Letter)
**
Background:
Letters to a Young Poet is a compilation of letters by Rainer Maria Rilke. It consists of 10 letters written to a young man (Franz Kappus) considering entering the German military. Rilke was born in Prague, capital of Bohemia (then part of Austria-Hungary; now the Czech Republic). A Bohemian–Austrian poet, he is considered one of the most significant poets in the German language. His haunting images focus on the difficulty of communion with the ineffable in an age of disbelief, solitude, and profound anxiety: themes that tend to position him as a transitional figure between the traditional and the Modernist poets.
The letters were originally written to Kappus, a 19-year-old student at the Military Academy of Vienna, of which Rilke was an alumnus. Discouraged by the prospect of military life, Kappus began to send his poetry to the 27-year-old Rilke, seeking both literary criticism and career advice. Their correspondence lasted from 1902 to 1908. In 1929, three years after Rilke's death, Kappus assembled and published the ten letters.
(source: Wikipedia)
