Reds: Best Vintages 

Whether you're ordering red or white, watch out for the date on the label... With some rare -and expensive- exceptions, whites do not age gracefully. If you are presented with a wine older than 2 years, it's probably way past its peak of gracefulness and splendour; on the other hand, if it's red, the vintage could make the difference.

All  experts agree that the wine produced in 1997 is outstanding. Some say, perhaps the best of the century.

Waiting for it to hit the shelves anytime between  2 to 5 and more years from now, here's a review of the past 25 years of vintages for three of the most appreciated reds of Italy.

Quality of vintage depends on several natural factors that condition the growth of the vines and the quality of the grapes: temperatures, sunlight, rain, etc. When all are favourable, the vintage is high quality. When there is too little or too much of one element, the vintage suffers. When hail hits the vines heavy with grapes, disaster occurs...