Grape harvest over, lesson learnt…or maybe

Talking about wine is not for everyone. Wine means communication and every time we uncork a bottle we pour a little history into our glass – the history of the person who sought that wine, believed in it and produced it. The history of a winegrower.

I’d like to stop and think for a moment about a young winegrower who is exhibiting his wine at a show for the very first time. It’s his first vintage, his first creation. Before lifting that glass of wine to your lips you should let yourself go for a moment and enter a stranger’s world for the first time, sharing his excitement and emotions. This is the world of a young man who is pouring his entire soul into that glass.

Wine should be interpreted, never should a bottle be drunk without taking into account the producer’s historical background. The same goes for the wine-growing region it represents.

This is why speaking about wine is not for everyone. An emotion hidden within must be liberated in order to do so. If your soul is not so inclined then you should limit yourself to drinking it. Or even only tasting it.

Wine is communication. An emotion is not only conveyed by means of a product’s sensory qualities but by the history surrounding the producer who serves it.

Who knows how much work lies behind appearing at such an ordinary show? Nobody. There are no awards, no success, no heralding – simply being present with your own name. Only a person who cradles passion in their hands ingrained with soil knows that the only way to reach this stage is by having faith in one’s work. The road to success is long and begins far back when those years of training built solid foundations. Various experiences followed and a personal view of the profession evolved, years of preparation, choosing the grapevines, searching for vinification premises, all the daunting investments involved in starting up a business, not to mention the economic and personal sacrifices involved. Just to be there. Everything is still to be done. An enormous question mark hovers over his future and the future of his wine.

Indeed. Everything is contained in that tasting. This is why someone who intends approaching this world should be taught respect before everything else. Whoever the producer may be has reached this point to offer you a part of himself. Every glassful enriches us.

"We are a half-litre bottle bobbing in an immeasurable sea. It’s hard-going. But if the currents are favourable the bottle will carry its message to the mainland."

2016 - what we have seen can be summed up in two words: satisfaction and hope. Satisfaction is personal while hope is for Valdostan viticulture. The fact that promising young winemakers are entering this world shows that it is taking steps forward and growing. We’re becoming a reality but we must have greater faith.

Cheers to everyone

Ottin