Essential Vintage Chart for buyers: 10-year guide to the top wine zones Check the pedigree before you write the cheque

TO MOVE AROUND FRONT PAGE REGIONS SUPERMARKETS BOOKS UK DIRECTORY WEB SITES WINE FINDS HOW TO SAY IT FACT FILE LABEL GUIDE FIVE-STAR SPOT: IN a little back street in Florence is what I reckon the best eating place in town ... Cibreo, in Via dei Macci. If you like London’s River Cafe you’ll love this, wonderful food, great service in the restaurant on one corner and the bar on the opposite side. Phone (055) 2341100.

MOST years are pretty good (how often have YOU been to Italy and thought the weather was awful?) but there can be considerable variations, particularly in the misty north. If you want to buy by vintage, two years stand out ... 1997 and 1990, the latter often referred to as the year of the century. Not far behind was 1995, particularly for Barolo and Amarone. On the other hand, years you might be more reluctant to choose were those from a series of less than happy vintages, 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1994. Don’t count them out, though, there were enough good wines around - and at decent prices - to fuel many a hearty evening or dinner party.

This chart is, to use the phrase they use at every election, the poll of polls. I have used partly as reference various other vintage charts both from Italian sources and this country, added my own personal assessment, and averaged the results, which hopefully gets rid of various anomalies in other charts. I think it is the most accurate way of assessing each vintage, making it a handy reference guide when you buy.