An avid pilot, his great aunt was Irma Rombauer, who compiled the classic American cookbook, The Joy of Cooking.
“When Koerner was once asked to explain why both flying airplanes and making wine were so important to him,” his family said in a statement, “he answered, ‘Flying and winemaking are both mystical, magical things. The magic of flying is that it allows you to leave behind all that binds you to the earth. The magic of winemaking is that you create something with your own hands, from your own piece of earth, that lasts for years. If you turn out a wine that can score the highest points, or highest bid, it’s like breaking out at minimums, right over the runway numbers, knowing you’ve nailed the approach.'”