Two Thousand and Ten: a Lesser Vintage

 Dear friends and lovers of the beverage of Bacchus, you who like this precious nectar so appreciated by gods, get ready for the worst news you could even hear about a vintage. Something which probably no one expected, a truly devastating news. Unfortunately, it is about vintage 2010, a vintage that, at this point, will be remembered for decades with sure consternation. Try to be strong and do not fall in depression: vintage 2010, we give this sad news - aware of the devastating effects it will cause in the world of wine - will not be the vintage of the century. After years and years of vintages of the century, unfortunately, this year we will not have a vintage worth of all the previous ones. In fact, for 2010, it was not predicted any vintage of the century. No one shouted out the wonder of the renewed viticultural and enological miracle, something which reassured every year millions of consumers in the world.

 In 2010, therefore, we will have a vintage which will not be remembered as the vintage of the century. Some good sense, at last, not only for the fact there still are 90 years before the end of this century. This will be a practically insignificant and anonymous vintage, but normal, at last. It is a mystery why the usual artists of the news have refrained from shouting out, once again, the new vintage of the century. Maybe the “fashion” of enological sensationalism is finally over? That one which every year told about grapes of excellent quality, as to give us the dream of heavenly wines, and tasting them would have been remembered for the rest of our lives. Or could it be wine lovers are not so silly to “drink” - it is quite appropriate in this case - every news given in order to attract attention, or indifference, depending by the case - towards wine? Maybe it could be like the fable attributed to Aesop “The boy who cried wolf”: when you continuously, year after year, hear about the vintage of the century, you end up not believing on it anymore.

 They hopefully prefer to wisely waiting, to pour the wine in the glass and to have an idea of it. A concrete idea, real and reliable, beyond any “chatter” and any forecasting. At last. If 2010 will not be the vintage of the century, in few weeks, when the grapes will finally be in the wineries, in their journey which will make them wine, it will certainly be someone who will put the attention on another classic news of the wine scene: the competition among the countries which make more wine. It is just another wonderful and sensational news “pleasing” the life both of consumers and producers. A competition won by the country which brought the highest quantity of grape in the winery, therefore winning the prize of the main producer. This, of course, does not mean to be the best, as the best is never measured on the quantity produced, indeed, on what has been produced and how. In other word, just a little but good, very good.

 Making an ocean of wine is not always profitable: you should hear, in this sense, the concerns of producers about the wine they did not sell, about the thousands of bottles which will remain in the cellar and will never be sold. The destiny of those bottles, in the best case, is to be undersold to distilleries, interested to the ethyl alcohol the contain only. In those cases, there is no vintage of the century or record of the best producer which will count. Try to sell a “fresh” white wine of any vintage of the century after two or three years from its production. A hard job, even the year after, as the market wants the new wines, those belonging to the latest vintage, while forgetting about the old ones which will then remain in the winery. Getting back to our beloved subject of the vintage of the century, we should also consider - in sake of honesty - the exceptionality of a vintage, presumed or real, cannot be declared for a vast territory such as, for example, Italy.

 An example is offered by vintage 2002. About this vintage all have expressed extremely negative opinions, result of a season with not truly favorable meteorological conditions according to a viticultural point of view. The result was every wine of vintage 2002 was considered as bad. Nevertheless 2002 was not bad, or at least, not in all the Italian areas. Let's take Valtellina, an area in Northern Italy, for example. If in that area you talk about 2002 as a bad vintage, no one will believe you. The same is true for the so beloved “vintages of the century” and “exceptional years”. Such as 1997 and 2001, considered by many vintages of undeniable excellence. This certainly is true for many Italian regions, but not for all. And, if we want to be exacting, great vintages, as well as not so great ones, should be considered according to each producer or each territory.

 This is what a real wine lover generally do, that is to consider a wine for what it really is, despite the rumors of the “usual” vintages of the century or the bad years. There certainly are vintages better than others - also in general terms - however it is what we find in our glass to make that wine great, not the vintage. That specific wine. Because it is right the wine we have in the glass to tell us a story, to give us the unrepeatable emotion of that very moment. In case a wine gives us emotions and can tell us a story, this is the only thing making a wine great: the fact it belongs to a vintage of the century or not, it is a minor factor. It is undeniable the knowledge of wine lovers is continuously increasing - also because of the Internet who gave wine a new place where people can concretely share ideas and opinions - and maybe, because of this, less and less people believe to the rumors of certain silly news. 2010 will not be shouted out as the vintage of the century and we will finally and concretely talk about wine: the one this vintage will pour in our glasses the next year.