The person behind Laroche
Louis-Pierre
Laroche
Wine merchant in Markt Piesting, travelling to French winemakers for over 20 years.
“If it comes from you, it is always good. I do not need to taste it.”
The path
A life between France and Piesting
Louis-Pierre tells how he became a wine merchant.
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01
The fine palate
My nose is not perfect. In the mouth, though, I feel everything, every texture. With a Pinot Noir I can taste whether it comes from Burgundy, Germany or Austria. As a child we often ate tinned mackerel in white wine sauce at home. One day there was a thickener in it. I felt it immediately, and for me that was the end of the brand. Today I stock mackerel without thickeners again.
“In the mouth I feel everything.”
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02
What makes it onto the shelf
My first job was with an international haulage company. There I saw what gets driven across Europe: gherkins for big brands from Hungary, milk that goes fresh to Romania and comes back to France as powder. None of that here. I want natural ingredients from the region, fish that is processed fresh and never frozen, and no thickeners.
“Mustard, egg, oil and spices belong in a mayonnaise. Nothing more.”
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03
What was missing in Austria
For ten years I lived in Austria and found no French wine that I liked. So I fetched it myself from France. That is not normal, I thought, there is a gap in the market. In 2003 I founded Laroche, with ten winemakers. Today there are over 50.
“I wanted to bring the real taste of France to Austria. Wine and delicatessen, the way people drink and eat them in France.”
Louis-Pierre Laroche
How he selects
Six steps, one week of tasting
Up to five winemakers per appellation at the start, samples without a price list, a week of tasting side by side. Only then does he ask for prices, and at the very end he visits.
- Over 20 years of experience in France and personal contact with winemakers
- Every wine tasted in person before it enters the range
- Origin, winemaker and region are named openly
In person
Where to find him
Most likely in the store in Markt Piesting, and whenever the French Heuriger has opened its doors.
Louis-Pierre Laroche is the father of eleven children. Whenever the Heuriger opens, the whole family lends a hand.