Dear wine I am writing you. It is now a long time, through the pages of this
editorial, each month I write about you, of the facts concerning your world and
about my opinions. A moment in which I share my thoughts with others. Maybe it
is because another year has just passed - 2013 has just ended and welcomed 2014
- or maybe for the fact in this period one is used to draw conclusions, by
considering the good things and the less good ones, so I thought I would have
written you. We now know each other, through these pages, since twelve years,
however we know each other for a truly longer time. You know, the ones who are
born in this country - Italy - and the same happens in others places of the
world as well, learn to live a daily life with you, with the beverage strongly
distinguishing our culture. I do not have the presumption, of course, to know
you very well, I cannot say I know everything about you and of your practically
endless souls. You are a noble artist of the land and with each of them you
renew your promise of union, year after year, always changing yourself although
remaining always the same. To really know you well is not that simple.
We met so many times I now forgot how many times this happened. You have always
been a loyal fellow, I always respected you, without abusing of you in the
excess and I wanted the very same from you in return. After all, I have never
appreciated those who, in a foolish and insane way, abuse of you, as I find
this to be unfair and unseemly, both for you and for the ones who believe it is
useful abusing of your virtues. I guess the ones who make it may also believe
they are intelligent and smart: frankly speaking, I have never understood how
they can believe that, I find this to be very difficult to understand. To me,
it is like trampling on history, a long and important culture for humanity, a
tale of the land telling the man the strength and generosity of Nature. I guess
you are not surprised by that, as, unfailingly, you never respect the ones who
do not respect you. On this regard, you are very coherent and loyal: when
someone considers your value and enjoy your virtue with respect, you are always
grateful and generous in telling noble stories and giving amazing emotions.
There are other ways to not respect you and this too can be considered an abuse
or, even worse, an abomination. Producers with no scruples use you as a mean
way of speculation: they praise the land, talk about a non better specified
traditions and abuse the word quality. They have the nerve for that, as
they have never entered their vineyards, their lives are so distant even from
the most recent traditions, quality is a word used to tell a piteous tale. The
same nerve, nevertheless, have those who use vineyard and wine in order to
glorify themselves only. They believe they are always right, they are strong of
a sad and hypocrite presumption, always ready to deny the wine of others even
when they do not know it at all. In case you try to contest their wine, even in
the slightest way, it is the beginning of an endless war, useless massacres of
glasses, bottles and words. They do not understand that, at the end, everyone
is losing and there is no winner.
Then, there are the ones who use words for their own personal pleasure:
expressions of vanity which seem to talk about wine but they are instead a sad
expression of presumption in the form of absolute and undeniable verdicts. Who
knows what do you think about them, dear wine, of those funny subjects who
talk, or better to say, they run you down, while they are convinced of being in
the supreme pulpit and that everything depends on their sacred words. I am sure
you would laugh at them and, after that, you would continue your journey, being
aware that, most of the times, those words are incomprehensible even to those
who write or speak them. After all, you are interested in earth, mother
vineyard, your nature of beverage which is such thanks to the intervention of
man who understood, with time, Nature's processes and interacts with them for
his own pleasure. Yes, I agree, this is a selfish act that, I am sure, you
fully understand because of the joy and emotions you are capable of giving to
the ones who know how to listen to you.
2013 has just passed, a year which witnessed, once again, idealogical fights
that, according to the challengers, they were supposed to be useful in
supporting wine and its identity. This has not been different from the past
years, after all, it was not so different from the past. I understand
the subject wine is something strongly felt, strongly associated to local
cultures of every country, and sometimes we end up to blindly defend a
principle and a concept without listening to others. Sometimes it seems for
wine the famous saying grass is always greener on the other side of the
fence is not valid: sometimes, not only the grass on the other side is less
green, but it is also ugly, withered and of disputable dignity. I am not simply
talking about different countries of the world, as this seems to frequently
happen for producers of the same area, even vineyard neighborings. Unity is
strength: not so many have understood this and, besides few enlightened
examples, there are many who fight each other for nothing.
I do think, dear wine, you would be successful in getting everyone along,
beyond words and arguments: in good company and a good glass, most of the
times, it is easy to make friends. This is what I am wishing you for 2014. I
wish they will let you freely speak for what you are, for all of your different
ways of being, always different but all children of the same soul. After all,
this is what I like about you, dear wine, your versatile personality, your
endless nuances and the many ways you can be interpreted and considered. In
case it would not be like that, we would all be happy of drinking any other
beverage - always the same and never changing - and there would not be any
argument or fight. On this regard, you perfectly reflects the forms and
substances of the world: everything looks different according to a point of
view, from where and how one's look at it. Nevertheless, nothing is absolute,
everything is relative, and you are no exception to this. The best does not
exist. Let's make in 2014 will simply exist wine, yourself for what you are,
what you express and for how they give you live. This is my wish for you, dear
wine. In the meantime I am going to listen to your answer by appreciating the
aromas of this generous glass I have here, right by my side. I know, in the
wisdom of moderation and humbleness of listening, you will not disappoint me.
Antonello Biancalana
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