The 2006 vintage of Chianti Classico brings us wine lovers something to celebrate – and not just that so many of the wines taste good. This is the first year that white wine grapes have been outlawed from this, the quintessential wine of Tuscany, the land of olives, vines, cypresses and, at this time of year, thousands of holidaymakers.

Putting white wine grapes in red wine is not quite as bizarre as it sounds. In some cases there are sound reasons for including a few green-skinned grapes along with the purple. In Côte Rôtie in the Rhône Valley, for instance, there is a long-standing tradition of co-fermenting a small proportion of pale Viognier grapes with the Syrah to make the wine taste smoother and stabilise the pigment of the red grapes. Copies of this recipe were all the rage in Australia a few years ago and Shiraz/Viognier has become a staple offering there.