Letter to Decanter

The following letter made letter of the month in March's edition in Decanter, which means yours truly received a free magnum of Bolinger NV!

Dear Sir,

In the recent Decanter Italy 2009 guide, I read with interest about the white grape variety, Aspirinio of Campania: “[It] grows in a remarkable manner: the vines are supported by poplar trees, and shoots reach as high as 15 meters… so tall ladders are needed to [harvest the grapes]; this type of training method is known as Alberata Aversana.”

The world of wine is one of constant discovery, change and innovation. While the famous elixirs of Montrachet and Chateau Latour are undoubtedly among the finest wines in the world, less well-known wines, such as Aspirinio, are equally enjoyable to both our palates and our intellect.

My aim is not to promote Aspirinio per se, but to highlight that the rich tapestry of wine contains more than the titans of Bordeaux, Burgundy & Californian 'Cabs'. Only by tasting and learning about new wines and their regions and cultures, do we learn more and challenge ourselves and our prejudices. It is this constant process of discovery that makes wine a uniquely interesting and challenging subject.

Decanter, the self styled 'route to all good wine', plays a key role in this process of discovery and education. However, 'good wine' includes more than the regularly featured Bordeaux, Burgundy & Californian 'Cabs', which perennially dominate the pages of Decanter.

Like the alphabet, the world of wine stretches from A for Aspirinio to Z for Zinfandel. Please try to move on from B for Bordeaux and Burgundy.

Yours faithfully,

JPM