In Venice, Returning to New York! Vinitaly and all the anti-Vinitaly Tastings are finally over. The last time I was in Venice was 22 years ago on a pre-honeymoon with Denyse Louis, who is currently my wife. Since then, we've had two children, built a wine importing company along with Kevin McKenna, and raised a dog. It has been an eventful time and it is wonderful to be back in the the most beautiful city in the world and to think of how rich my life has been with the people I love and the crazy, eccentric, hard-working and creative people I have met in the wine world. Here in Italy, people ask me if I've learned to love Italian wine in the same way I love French wine. I have not because I do not love French wine, in fact I find I greatly dislike 98% of the French wine I taste. Here in Italy, I have disliked 99%, so maybe the extra 1% I like in France makes me a French wine enthusiast. But basically I don't believe in a French wine world or Italian or Spanish wine world or Portugese wine world. There are great terroirs and great vignerons the world round. In the New World, it might take several more decades or centuries to figure it all out -- everything is so young and market driven. In France, where there is a long tradition of stubborn peasant farmers, there is a small but significant natural wine culture that wants to improve the work in the fields and in the cellar without falling into the trappings of antiquated traditionalism or modern spoofulation. Italy is an ancient wine producer with great sites, a great diversity of grape varieties and some great vignerons. There are great wines here and the material for even more great wines. Now is the time for the serious to get rid of their clonal selections, fire their oenologues and agronomists, stop worshipping ridiculous wine journalists, get rid of yeasts and enzymes and rotofermentors, throw out some of the vast sulfur supplies, and move on to the serious work of making real wine. That movement has started here and will only grow deeper in the next decade. Personally, I can't wait. A side point -- Vinitaly had an amazing number of veteranarians at each stand who had nothing at all to do with the wine trade. Are they also getting a cut of the Italian consultancy pie? I have turned on the comments section of my blog. Feel free to leave ridiculous comments. |
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