Even the northern states of Mexico are on the fringes of the climatic zones generally thought to favour the growing of wine grapes. But with mountainous regions and areas close to the cool breezes of the Pacific, some vintners are starting to produce some pretty good wines that are now being consumed with pride throughout the country.

Most wine today is made to be consumed within hours of purchase. Some may improve a little but very few by a lot, even after months or sometimes years of resting comfortably in actual wine cellar conditions.

The Pinot Noir grape is described by many a vintner as “the Heartbreak Grape”. Any winemaker worth his salt and who has access to conditions even remotely favourable to this grape, has made a serious effort to produce a wine that will excite consumers.

It irritates me that chardonnay experiences a consumer backlash that’s undeserved. Restaurant servers are weary of patrons ordering “anything but Chardonnay”. But where did this backlash come from, and why?