Through the Wine Looking Glass: 2018 in Review

BY IAN D'AGATA | JANUARY 3, 2019

Another year is slowly coming to a close and the memories are too numerous to count, or to list. I realize just how fortunate I am to be able to make a living by writing about wine; each year, what is  both my job and my passion provides a collection of wonderful moments spent in the company of great wines, people, friends and family. But it also involves countless visits to wineries, beautiful countrysides, unforgettable tastings and academic conferences in Italy and all over the world (a real feat, as I absolutely hate to fly: thank-you, benzodiazepines). Add to that delightful food and restaurant experiences and a few on the side non-wine vacations that are absolutely necessary to get away from it all once in a while and stay sane. So yes, I am a blessed individual. But before it all begins to sound too good to be true, let me also mention endless airport waits (“Are you checking your trolley in?” “Thanks, but absolutely not” are probably my Top 10 most heard words of the year) and delays, many (and I do mean many) less than stellar bottles (admittedly, tasting 300-400 wines from a wine region not known for outstanding or even above average wine quality can be a bit of a slog. That said, it’s still an invaluable exercise, for doing so annually for twenty or thirty years straight allows the development of a tasting memory and palate that few others anywhere following Italian wine can boast). But the worst part of the job is the memories of friends who are no longer with us, because life is neither a box of chocolates nor a memorable bottle of wine, unfortunately.

The beautiful Alsace countryside

And so, just where does one start? It might as well be from the end, with the last month of the year well representing a microcosm of my year, in which I had plenty of time, Woody Allen-like, to think about the twelve-month period flown by with a whole bunch of happiness and sadness and misery and joy that really was all over much too quickly. So here is my “A month in the life”, a diary summarizing 2018 in review.

Riga, November 23

Wine region discovery of the year: Latvia. I had just landed in Milan after three days in Riga, Latvia where I attended a conference and guided tastings on Italian wine for local wine professionals. Latvia is beautiful and the people friendly. But did you know it makes a slew of different wines? Granted, most are quirky and made from the likes of raspberries, elderberries, blackberries, bilberries, dandelions, rhubarb and lilac, and yes, grape hybrids. An acquired taste? Maybe, but I have been down this route before and it’s always an exciting one; in the late seventies, I guzzled a steady stream of Ontario Marechal Foch, Seyval Blanc (those were actually pretty good), De Chaunac and similar wines. Canada now makes world class wines and I have no doubt that Latvia will too, one day. The benefits of climate change? I’m not sure the word “benefit” is at all the correct term, and besides, there’s probably a polar bear or two who might beg to disagree (in case you were wondering, I stand with the bears, on whatever little ice there is left to stand on, that is). And did you know the Latvian town of Sabile boasts the northernmost winery in Europe (as attested by the Guinness Book of World Records)? Neither did I. In the meantime, enjoy the twice a year rather noteworthy wine festival held in Riga, the country’s capital city, devoted to still wines and Champagne with tastings led by luminaries such as Michael Schuster. I have never much traveled to foreign countries to visit new wine production areas, preferring to concentrate all my time on the wines of only a few countries and get to really know them in depth, but it was fun to break free from my daily routine and acquaint myself with Latvia and its wine lovers.

Barolo, November 24 and 25

I tasted through one hundred and forty-five Piedmont wines. Another time it might be the wines of the Marche, or Alto Adige, or Abruzzo, or Alsace or Niagara or the Okanagan. It never ends, every year a new vintage, new releases, something new going on at a winery… but it’s always a wonderful time. I had a lovely meal at Bovio and a surprisingly good lunch at Da Felicin, the latter a place that has endured a fair share of criticism in recent years. What do you know… two more Vinous Tables, coming right up!

Rome, November 26

It’s s great to be back in my apartment for two whole days, a real luxury. I am not sure I even remember the last time I was here. No matter: my mission, which I choose to accept, is to disappear from the world prior to my next flight two days from now, on November 28.

Rome, November 27