There are two wine lists at the Hotel Bellevue & Spa in far northwestern Italy’s Alpine Valle D’Aosta. The first is labeled “traditional,” which doesn’t quite capture its essence: this long but carefully curated list of top Italian wines, supplemented by selections from France, Europe and the odd choice from further afield, is, said senior judge Andrew Jefford, “a list with depth and richness, and not graspingly priced.”
It’s only when you get to the second of the hotel’s lists that the use of the world “traditional” begins to make sense. The “Green List” is the very opposite of a traditional restaurant list, featuring as it does a range of ecologically aware producers. Beautifully illustrated with labels and atmospheric photographs of the producers whose wines feature on the list, it is, said Jefford, “A real of work art; something very special.”
More important, perhaps, is the depth of the coverage of this loose-knit cadre of global wine producers. “I’ve never seen natural/organic wines covered as well as this,” said Jefford. His fellow judges agreed, awarding a special Jury Prize to Hotel Bellevue & Spa for its “amazing Green List, an inspirational document and a great example of creative wine-list creation.”
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