To be both a photographer and a wine fan is no easy task. It seems the two interests are always in opposition. During a winery visit for example, you can either take a lot of pictures, or taste a lot of wine. It’s really quite difficult to do both (well) simultaneously, and usually one takes precedence over the over. And if you start the visit tasting the wine, rather than taking photos, well then all hope can be quickly lost.

There are also a host of other factors that make winery photography challenging. For example, who will be at the meeting, the winemaker or another staff member? Is the weather favorable for a visit into the vineyards, and if so, will there be fruit on the vine? Ripe or unripe? Is anything going on in the cellar today, pressing, pumping, bottling?

And so it is that each winery visit is, indeed, just a ‘snapshot’ of the winery, of its people, and of course, of its wines.

My visits seem to fit this model perfectly. I do the best I can, but the more engaging the company and the more fascinating the wines, the fewer great photos I seem to walk away with. It’s best perhaps to stay out of the tasting room as long as possible and hope there is enough time to taste the wines. Or alternatively, just leave the camera in the trunk of the car!

Coming up next: winery visits in Austria’s Kamptal region – Weingut Birgit Eichinger and Weingut Bründlmayer.