In the July 31st 2005 issue of Wine Spectator Magazine, Richard Wiese, the president of the century-old Explorers Club -- whose members have been the first to set foot on the North and South poles, the summit of Mount Everest and the moon -- was interviewed by Wine Spectator's Nick Fauchald.

His interview appears in the July 31st 2005 edition of Wine Spectator.

Fauchald's first question: "Which is more important: What you drink or where you drink it?"

Wiese responded:

I'm really big on ambiance -- it can make the crappiest wine taste a whole lot better. And drinking wine in the outdoors is such a different experience. I went to Elephant Island (off Antarctica), and on Christmas Day, I sat with some friends on the back of an icebreaker.

There were these big, hanging glaciers around us, and we sat there with a $3 bottle of Argentinean wine in the middle of this spectacular view. I've been on all these trips, and we always end with a nice glass of wine.

Wine Spectator's Fauchald then asked, "What is your favorite wine-in-the-great-outdoors experience?

Wiese's answer:

I was on safari in northern Kenya, and my friend and I had rendezvoused with some Italian guys. We had a checkered tablecloth and a few bottles of Chianti that they had brought from Italy.

That night it was so clear that the stars looked like a blanket of lights -- everything looked so much closer and bigger. And in the distance you could hear lions roaring. I remember saying to myself, "It just doesn't get any better than this."

Fauchald's next question was, "What's your favorite wilderness food-and-wine pairing?"

Wiese answered:

Whey you're on an expedition, you're limited in choice.

But I went dog-sledding with Martin Buser, the four-time Iditarod winner. In Alaska, you put your name on a list, and the highway department calls you when a moose has been hit by a truck. So we went on a training run and then had a roadkill-moose stew and a nice bottle of Cabernet for dinner.

Fauchald's last question was "You're researching some grapevines passed down through your family?"

Wiese replied:

My great-grandparents moved from Corleone, Italy, to the Bronx, N.Y., and brought along some vines. Then, when my grandparents moved to Long Island, they took a cutting and planted it there. My grandmother gave me a cutting, on which I am having a DNA test done. I plan to make wine (from these vines) and give it to prominent explorers around the country.

About The Explorers Club

The Explorers Club is an international multidisciplinary professional society dedicated to the advancement of field research and the ideal that it is vital to preserve the instinct to explore. Since its inception in 1904, the Club has served as a meeting point and unifying force for explorers and scientists worldwide. In addition to its headquarters at 46 East 70th Street in New York, the Club has some thirty regional chapters in the United States and abroad.

More About Richard Wiese

Richard Wiese finds himself in all corners of the world and often returns with a bottle of wine and a great story. These are just a taste of them.

At home, he designs personalized wine labels for friends and is tracking the lineage of grapevines his great-grandparents brought to New York from Italy. He also brought wine to the Explorers Club, in partnership with California's Redwood Creek winery, through tastings that pair wine with exotic foods, such as snake and tarantula.

Inspire & Be Inspired.

Here's to healthy, adventuresome, soulful, "pairing the right wine with the right venue" living!

~ Jennifer Carolyn King, Rugged Elegance, LLC

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