ENDINGEN (mw). Oliver Haag (46) is fulfilling one of his dreams: On Thursday, 22 July, he opened his wine shop "Haag Weinkultur" at Dielenmarktstraße 16 in Endingen for invited guests, and the shop opened for regular business the next day.

Oliver Haag, who has been living in Malterdingen since 1997, stressed that to him wine has always been a passion rather than a hobby. Whether in his spare time or on vacation, vineyard visits are always part of the program. This developed into the desire to start his own business in the wine industry. Haag, who was a salesman in the cosmetics industry for 15 years, has been attending a course for state-certified wine trade specialists in Koblenz since late 2009, and plans to qualify there additionally as a state-qualified sommelier, in addition to running the business in Endingen, as of mid-2011der.

To kick off with, Haag will be offering a range of around 250 wines from Germany, France and Italy. The German selection is dominated by twelve selected producers from the Baden region, with a focus on the Kaiserstuhl district, as well as the Schönleber estate from the Nahe region and Wittmann from Rheinhessen, both among the best Riesling producers in Germany. In Italy, Haag focuses on Piedmont and Tuscany, in France on Bordeaux, Burgundy and the Rhône valley. Haag stresses that he has personally tasted more than 90 per cent of the wines. His intention is not only to sell wine, but also to provide wine enthusiasts with a platform for discoveries and expert discussions – or simply to browse in some wine books. Open wine tastings are planned for Fridays and Saturdays, with topics changing on a monthly basis. Other items on offer include vinegar, oil and special spices. He does his own buying on Mondays, so the shop is closed then.