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Cellar Master Steve Pitcher

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About Steve
Our esteemed Cellar Master is Steve Pitcher. [On the right in photo.]

On December 1, 2003, in the German capital Berlin, the President of Germany, Johannes Rau, awarded Steve Pitcher the Merit Cross of the German Order of Merit (Verdienstkreuz am Bande des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland) in recognition of special service to the Federal Republic of Germany. The award was conferred on "Herrn Dr. Stephen R. Pitcher" by the German Consul General, Bernd Westphal, on February 20th, in a ceremony at the German Consulate General in San Francisco, California, on the occasion of the 10th Annual New Vintage Tasting of German wines, produced by the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of the German Wine Society, a national nonprofit organization, of which Pitcher has been chapter president since 1994, and a member since 1987. Pitcher holds a doctorate in law (J.D.) from Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco, hence the "Dr. Pitcher."

The Consul General nominated Pitcher for the award "in recognition of his outstanding work for the activities of the German Wine Society in the Bay Area and for his success as a wine writer in informing the public of the quality and attraction of German wines." The nomination was channeled through the German Embassy in Washington, D.C., which sent it with a favorable recommendation to the Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs in Berlin, who made the nomination to the German President.

Pitcher is a contributing editor of The Wine News magazine as well as a freelance wine writer whose articles appear in several publications, including the Wine Section of the San Francisco Chronicle, which is syndicated nationally.

The Order of Merit is the only honor that may be awarded in all fields of endeavor and is the highest tribute the Federal Republic of Germany can pay to individuals -- both German nationals and foreigners -- for services to the nation. There are eight different levels of the Order of Merit, of which the Merit Cross is the second. Pitcher is the first American wine writer to receive the decoration.
 

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