What will you be drinking in the New Year 2017?

New Year's Resolutions! Yes, it's the time of year for putting down on paper the inevitable, classic list. 2016 is coming to an end, we've survived the usual Christmas excesses; we can slow down for a few days, take a deep breath, regenerate and recharge our batteries.  It's the moment for reflection, time to take stock of everything we have and haven't done, or what we would have liked to do or of what we mustn't absolutely miss out on next year. For all real wine-lovers, it's a moment of enlightened inspiration and existential questioning: did I drink everything I could in 2016? Did I discover a new jewel in the world of wine? Did I get to all the most glamorous tastings and shows? But, above all: what am I going to drink in the New Year?

Here are 5 Wine-Resolutions:

1. More Bubbles!

I'd like to drink more bubbles in 2017! They make you feel happy and create a party atmosphere. They make great aperitifs, teasing and whetting your appetite, but I love drinking them with all the meal, letting them take me through from start to finish. I make sure my cellar never runs out of Prosecco or Franciacorta, opposites which complement one another,four delay absolute must, but in 2017 I'd like to drink more spumante "de terroir" and out of the ordinary. For example, Pignoletto with its fantastic sensation of fruit, pears and apricots, almost thick and succulent and that citrus freshness it leaves in the mouth; or Lambrusco di Sorbara with its bewitching, bright pink colour, which explodes in your mouth with flavors of wild strawberries, raspberries and blackcurrant, cake and almond brittle (and remember to keep a good supply as one bottle can easily lead to another!).

2. More Wines for Those Moments of Reflection

I like drinking wines with a deeper meaning, which have within them a glance into the future, good intentions not only for next year but also for the generations to come. For example, have you ever been to Valtellina? Have you ever seen where the vines grow? In an area of cultivated vines stretching for 40 kms, there are about 2,500 kms of terracing to hold up the rows of vines as well as dry-stone walls to maintain and look after. It's a demanding and tough terrain, tiring to work; there's a very good reason for people talking about extreme or even heroic wine-growing here.  And yet making wine isn't just a question of creating something to drink which is well-balanced and pleasant but also of safeguarding a territory, a community and a tradition. Sciur is a Valtellina wine from the Nino Negri winery and an example of sustainability, a Nebbiolo excellent for drinking from a unique piece of land ideal for setting you thinking.

3. How about some classic white wines from a Volcano?

Volcano wines are often talked about, for example Aglianico, born and grown on the slopes of the extinct volcano Vulture. What's special about these wines? The vines sink their roots into into a rich, mineral and balanced terrain with every part of the vine benefiting from the richness of the soil. It's easy to forget that some wines come from volcanic soils even if you may not be able make out any longer in the  landscape the characteristic shapes of the cones that generated them. So there's Soave Classico and Frascati Superiore, for example, and it comes as no surprise that they are wines that have been known for a long time, having had a place of honor through the centuries on the tables of Kings and Popes and still today a symbol of our wine-making. Like a classic suit, they don't bother you with any excessive or aggressive notes, but win you over with their elegance, balance and substance. White wines of structure and character!!

4. Fall in Love with Aglianico del Vulture

Some people have called it the Prince of the South with the Spirit of the North and it seems the perfect definition to me. It's not perhaps as sexy and sensual as other southern wines, but Aglianico strikes you for its solid, expansive and intriguing character. The tannins are dense and sweet, the aromas intense, ripe black cherry, amarena and blackberry, cocoa, liquorice, carobs, balsamic undertones, Mediterranean herbs …. a deep and generous complexity. I think of Basilicata and the area of the Vulture which, even though they are set in the deep south, represent a fresh and continental zone where the warm temperatures lengthen the life of the vines and the harvest can be as late as the end of October. And, in the background, the magical and imposing Volcano.

An extraordinary and unique wine, Aglianico di Re Manfredi is defined by Wine Spectator as "One of the world's greatest wines".

5. Start Some Sweet Wine Storytelling

Sweet wines don't occupy the place they deserve! Sweet, full-bodied and sometimes quite strong they end up by simply bringing up the rear of our meal. Instead they should pay a much more important and involved role. Rich, complex and structured wines which convey emotions and which also have some strange stories to tell. They are wines that storytellers can enjoy themselves with because they often have far-off origins, traditions connected to where they come from, the local culture and ancient rites or to the setting in which they are born and produced.

One or two examples: the Recioto from the Veneto region is the father of Amarone, made from "le recie" (dialect for 'ears') which are the part of the bunch of grapes where you find the ripest and sweetest fruit, picked by hand and left to dry; the Chianti Occhio di Pernice which, with its long aging, takes on a splendid hazelnut colour; Cielo d'Alcamo, a typical late-harvesting Sicilian wine, named after an early Sicilian poet and so, through him, represents a mosaic of the island's smells, candied, tropical and ripe fruit, sweet aromas of honey and almonds …. All of this really does have to go down in our Wish List!

And you? What are your Wine-Resolutions for the New Year?