Forgotten heroes of wine: Joe's Welcome Wagon

The man behind "Joe's Welcome Wagon" lives on as a kitsch postcard. But there's a mystery at the heart of his story. A story of Japanese punk, copyright, obituaries, and a legendary smögårsbord.

Half a lifetime ago, my friend Bill Moore sent me this postcard:

You can tell why he sent it. I’m called Joe. And I was a sommelier. And the guy’s called Joe. And he’s a sommelier. Bill and I share a love of kitsch too. I still have the postcard now in a drawer. It lived on a pinboard for more than a decade.

But who was “Joe”?

I set out to find out. And I discovered a Japanese punk band, a famed smörgåsbord, flying cocktails, and one of America’s finest wine cellars. But ultimately a forgotten hero of wine whose story was deliberately obscured. Joe was more than a just sommelier. And there are thousands of Joes. They are the beating, uncelebrated heart of the wine business and some of its greatest creators of value. Joe deserves to be remembered, just like Dave West, and Albert Smith.

But what could we find out about “Joe”? A quick flip over the postcard reveals a little:

Joseph G. Pittenhedd

Joe holds a degree of International Wine Sommelier (Counsellor) and is privileged to wear the Gold Medallion for having passed advanced study and tests given him on wine knowledge, preparation of food and mixology technique. He received 2nd honors in 1953 for the National Wine-Week promotions, in which over 28,000 restaurants participated.

Joe is also a member of the Society of Bacchus in America (a research group starting a Wine Museum in the U.S.A.), and the Guild of Sommeliers of London, England, and Sidney, Australia.

Clearly he was quite the wine personality in his day. But lived a life that left few footprints on a straightforward Google search. In fact, nothing other than this postcard. A bit more digging reveals a richer life, a mystery that explains a lot, and a bizarre legacy.