Wine consumers tend to be a cautious lot, and rightly so. A trip to the wine shop can be a bit of a gamble... Unless you know exactly what your looking for. But there is also a risk in playing it safe. How can one grow in wine knowledge and experience if all you know is merlot, cabernet and chardonnay. Further, you run the risk of setting your palate to the exclusion of anything outside your narrow experience. Karen McNeil refers to this phenomenon in her book, The Wine Bible, as a frame error. Wine tasting is a subjective thing so it's certainly not a question of right or wrong. It is an error, however, in the sense that an assessment can be biased by lack of knowledge and experience. "So what", you say. I'm perfectly happy with my usual wines and I like Miller Light as well. That's OK, your not an aspiring wine... Or beer connoisseur. I have to tell you however, a closed minded attitude is one of my pet peeves. In fact, I'm starting to develop a tick from repressing my parental instincts. Just try it. If you don't like it you don't have to eat it!

I'm encouraged though by something I read in Robin Garr's 30 Second Wine Advisor, a free email wine bulletin. In the December 28, 2005 issue, he reported the results of last years New Year's wine resolutions survey. The leading resolution chosen by respondents was "Branch out and experiment. This years responses are not in yet but I'm anxiously waiting for the results. Hopefully the desire to branch out will be greater than last year and I will officially call
it a trend.

For those intrepid wine explorers who do want to branch out, Italian wines have a lot to offer. One of the many things I love about Italian wines is the unparalleled diversity in regional and varietal wines. Almost all of Italy is favorable to growing grapes but with great variation in conditions. In terms of weather, Italy is a virtual patchwork of microclimates. It's narrow profile means that much of the peninsula is exposed to the sea; the Adriatic on the east, the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian Seas on the West and the Ionian to the South. The cool Bora Winds from the Adriatic bear down on the North East and the hot Sirocco sweeps up through the South and along the western coast. Its predominately mountainous terrain tempers Italy's exposure to the Sea creating pockets and corridors of climatic extremes. In fact the extraordinary range of geological situations is staggering. Like a huge rocky "T", the Alps stretch across the top of Italy while the spiny Apennines stretch downward trough the center. Three major and fifteen minor volcanoes dot the islands and the mainland. The mountains offer a great range of soils, altitudes and exposures on which to grow grapes. So conducive are Italy's climates and geology that despite its small size, about the same as Arizona, it is the largest producer of wine in the world. The island of Sicily alone produces more wine than all of Australia, a country who's land mass is more than 25 times larger than Italy's.

Italy is home to more than 800 distinct grape varieties, an array so diverse it is difficult to catalog. Of course, not all are suitable for producing good wine but the Italians are trying. The Italian Ministry of Agriculture has identified and authorized 361 official varieties but many of the others are being rediscovered. Legacy grapes are catching on in Italy like legacy tomatoes in the USA. Italian wine producers are rediscovering their roots, as it were. Varieties like Pignolo, Schiapettino and Refosco can make stunning wines and are emerging as uniquely Italian. The top 10 varieties by volume today are: Sangiovese (11%), Catarratto Bianco Comune (10%), Trebbiano Toscano (6.8%), Barbera (5%), Merlot (4.5), Negroamaro (4%), Montepulciano (3.2%), Trebbiano Romagnolo (2%), Cataratto Bianco Lucido (2%) and Primitivo (2%).

As in France, Very few of Italy's wines are identified by grape variety. Most are blends and are identified by appellation (region). And just as in France, Many Italian wines are capable of conveying a strong sense of place or origin. The French call it "Terrior". Terrior is no accident of nature. It's always present, more prominently in some places, but it can be destroyed by mishandling or sourcing the wine from different places. Though many of Italy's modern producers have adopted new methods and styles of winemaking, they are also intensely aware of this sense of place. Like many things in Italy, its winemaking traditions are centuries old. In the midst of a modern winemaking revolution there is also a new consciousness for the past. Modern winemaking in Italy is a fusion of both these things. They are not incompatible. Modern high tech wineries are built into the ground like bunkers to facilitate gravity feed systems and soft crushing methods are used to minimize the handling of the grapes. Some have adopted biodynamic farming methods which tend to retain more of the "terrior" or sense of place by conserving the land and water and reducing the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

Ironically, Italy's small size belies it's diversity. Despite the closeness of it's people, differences in language, culture and even wines prevail. Producers from the German speaking Alto Adige are busy producing Gwurztraminer, Tuscans; chianti and brunello and the veronese are making valpolicella. Somehow it all works together to offer you, the consumer, a wonderfully unique variety of wine experiences... Or did you just want a miller light?