Bill Mayer: A great man and German wine lover has left us

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mark e

Mark Ellenbogen
For many on the West Coast, Bill Mayer was a guiding light and an amazing well of knowledge on German wine. He was a friend and mentor. Much of what I know about German riesling, I learned from Bill. On several trips to Germany and Austria, he introduced me to his friends and winemakers, who opened their homes; we were the recipients of wonderful hospitality and I learned much about the history of their respective regions.

Through Bill, I met Terry Theise and was introduced to a world of wine unbeknownst to me in the mid-90s. Bill's gentle guidance helped me make the Slanted Door wine list what it was.

Bill had many other passions, as well. In fact, he was a significant poet and photographer and acutely passionate about music as well. I was lucky to have spent many an afternoon at Bill's house in Berkeley.

Alas, Bill died yesterday morning after several years of declining health. I was and am hesitant to post this, but I suspect that many of you knew or met him and would want to know.
 
Didn't he do Age of Riesling, or something like that? I never met him, but knew of his Riesling guru status through Joe Dougherty over twenty years ago. Sorry to hear of his passing.
 
originally posted by Brad Kane:
Didn't he do Age of Riesling, or something like that? I never met him, but knew of his Riesling guru status through Joe Dougherty over twenty years ago. Sorry to hear of his passing.
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Yes, Age of Riesling was the name of his private customer wine business. I had introduced Joe D to him, and he got a fair amount of wine from Bill.
 
Mark,

Joe spoke fondly of Bill on many occasions although I never met Bill. I think your kind words here are well appreciated and appropriate.
 
originally posted by mark e:
Bill Mayer: A great man and German wine lover has left usFor many on the West Coast, Bill Mayer was a guiding light and an amazing well of knowledge on German wine. He was a friend and mentor. Much of what I know about German riesling, I learned from Bill. On several trips to Germany and Austria, he introduced me to his friends and winemakers, who opened their homes; we were the recipients of wonderful hospitality and I learned much about the history of their respective regions.

Through Bill, I met Terry Theise and was introduced to a world of wine unbeknownst to me in the mid-90s. Bill's gentle guidance helped me make the Slanted Door wine list what it was.

Bill had many other passions, as well. In fact, he was a significant poet and photographer and acutely passionate about music as well. I was lucky to have spent many an afternoon at Bill's house in Berkeley.

Alas, Bill died yesterday morning after several years of declining health. I was and am hesitant to post this, but I suspect that many of you knew or met him and would want to know.
Click to expand...

Ach, what a lovely guy was Bill! I purchased true wines from him and shared thoughts from time to time. A splendid, thinking and kind fellow.

Thanks, Marc for remarking on his life and his death.
 
A touching memorial to someone I never knew that makes me regret their passing. Sad that all things must go this way, even if it gives meaning to life.
 
I am so sad to read of Bill’s passing. I learned so much from him about wine and the wine business. Bill lived one of the richest lives of anyone I have ever known.

My friendship with Bill started when I read an article about Riesling in the Art of Eating. The article quoted Bill and referred to The Age of Riesling. I had never heard of it, so I called him up, and he invited me to his home. We spent the afternoon together. He took me to his storage facility in Richmond, and picked out $100.00 worth of wine for me. So began my journey down the rabbit hole of Austrian and German wine.

I saw him regularly at the Berkeley farmers’ market. and I enjoyed catching up with him. My heart goes out to Jane, his wife, a great teacher. Bill was a real polymath. My life is richer for knowing him. If you like poetry, try one of his books. Here is one called “Austrian Proverb.”

HIs mouth was full, the grease dribbling down his chin.
He chewed, swallowed slowly, trying not to rush,
wanting to enjoy it all. Then quickly wiped his face
with the corner of the brocade tablecloth.
Hoping the chaos would last a little longer,
and that the police, in the confusion, would not notice,
he put what he could, rolls, cheeses, meats,
and a half-consumed bottle of wine in his coat pocket.
It would go to waste otherwise, he thought.
Eating and drinking are the three best things in the world
he hummed softly to himself, as he edged his way to the door.

Brad
 
Thank you for letting me know.

Bill was among the very first people I befriended when I moved to Berkeley in the late 70's; at the time, he worked at PacWine and was my introduction to wines in general and Burgundy in particular.

Bill had a deep and abiding love for music (opera was his favorite!), a superb palate for food and wine, and a great heart. I knew he was very ill, and will miss his wit (and his ability to poke gentle fun at so much of modern life!)
 
Oh, so sorry to hear of this. I first met Bill in early 1993, also at Pacific Wine Company, and bought many bottles from him over the years. Indeed, I still own one bottle from that initial purchase - Dr Fischer Ockfener Bockstein auslese. He was truly a lovely man of many talents. I will drink my next glass of riesling in his honor.
 
Yes, sad to hear this news of his passing. I never met the man but heard about him and Age of Riesling from SFJoe, and I benefitted indirectly from his expertise.

Mark Lipton
 
Thanks for letting us know, Mark. It is sad news, but that is also a lovely tribute, Brad.

It was my great fortune to get to know Bill in the mid-90s. Later, I was lucky to be among the small band he escorted to his favorite German growers for a week in 2004 (He and the others continued on to Austria but sadly I had to go back to work.) That trip was a test run for him to see wether he could make a little business out of that sort of thing, which it did for a while. I regret not having been able to go on any of the subsequent trips as the mutual respect and affection he and the growers/wine makers shared was really wonderful to experience. He was a generous guide and teacher. I loved spending time with him and Jane in the Bay Area.

Just this passed Tuesday I was singing his praises as I opened for some friends a 375ml of 2006 Weisler Kunstler BA he gave me in 2007.

HIs memory will be a blessing.

Here's another of his poems:

Silence is Imaginary
 
this makes me so sad. I knew Bill from his Pacific Wine Co. days, and also knew him for his poetry, which was really substantial, and lovely. I ran into him, walking in Berkeley, maybe 16-18 months ago, and he told me he had cancer. His plan to fight it included walking five miles a day, which I was also trying to do, because it felt like something I needed. I loved what he wrote, and loved what a good soul he was, and tried to stay in touch, and somehow lost contact. I was so worried this might be the outcome. Oh, lord, so sad
 
I'm so sorry to hear that. He was a lovely man. My first foray into the wine biz was at PacWineCo in 1984. Bill had a fine sense of humor and made me chuckle on many an occasion. I purchased from the Age of Riesling after he started that business.

RIP Bill
 
Very sorry to hear that, he was a kind, good man. I also learned a large chunk of my Riesling knowledge from Bill and 90% of what I know about Austrian wine. And yes on his poetry, which i hope carries his name into the future. I recall being very moved by a poem he wrote about tending to his dying mother, around the same time I was doing so with mine. He captured some very bittersweet moments perfectly.
 
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