In 2007, as part of their Musterhaus series (volume 8, to be precise), German industrial band Einstürzende Neubauten released their album, Weingeister (“wine spirits”).
“Weingeister”: It started as just an idea, perhaps out of a simple wish to drink some wine with friends, as a performance, not talking, just ritualised behaviour (Symposium in the original sense?), concentrating on the wine and on the sound.
Everything was miked, the table, the glasses, the throats – and we really didn’t know where this was taking us. Yes, the wines were good.
The album is literally that. The sounds of wine being poured, and drunk. Each wine, with its own sounds. The following wines were consumed, and recorded:
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2004 Carriddi Bianco
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2004 Moscato Giallo
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1997 Cuvée Annamaria Clementi
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2003 Rossi Di Bisaccia
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1995 Brunello Riserva
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1997 Condrieu Les Chaillets
An interesting album, and as part of their “Musterhaus” series, an experimental piece exploring regions of pure sound beyond Neubauten’s usual instrumentation of sheet metal and power tools.
Each wine, based on varietal, appellation, terroir, vintage, fermentation, and aging has a unique signature of aroma, bouquet, and flavor.
Do they each possess a unique sound?
When tasting wine, we admire it visually. We smell it, and pick out various notes. We take it into our mouths, and talk about mouthfeel, and tastes.
Maybe we should listen to wine, as well.