What is for the spirit? What water is for the soul? Particularly in Italy, wine is the poetry, yeah.

What I'm looking to teniously justify the use of these quotes to introduce podcasts about the equally teniously connected worlds of wine and cycling, I could tell you that both sentences were pronounced by the first man to complete the giro di Italia.

Of course that would be a lie.

Mario Soldati was a playwright, novelist, film director, war report and TV host, not a professional cyclist.

His tour of Italy in its first incarnation was catchingly named a trip in the Poverly in search of genuine foods.

An Italian saw it, a seminal program in the early history of Italian television in 1957, in most cases before they have watched the actual giro.

And the story was also inspired by the Corseraza of which he had been a lifelong follower, even wrote a book about the first company similar to the Giro Lengor.

He also declared one day that the writer he later inherited that title after the copy, ought to be studied by every Italian school child.

Soldati died in 1999. Among his many legacies it is often said he taught Italian about Italy, including through the medium of wine.

There's more comprehensive road trips far beyond and beneath the Poverly in 1968, 1970 and 1975, provided the material for a book, Yenio Alvino, which is still regarded as one of the holy tomes on the subject.

Hence we feel somewhat vindicated in challenging the spirit of Mario Soldati.

That is to say, or paraphrase him, that wine is the poetry of the ear and the giro, an annual recital of this as well as another art form, an audio visual feast of glinting spokes and worrying wheels across the glorious expanse of Italy.

More simply and finally getting to the point, this year again we're inviting the wine enthusiasts and wine curious among our listenership to discover and enjoy six wines produced on or close to the lands traversed by the giro.

Once more we have curated our giro vagando selection with Greg Andrews and Lucia Lendirotto of Divine Sellers in London.

And you can buy the case on their website at www.dvinesellers.com.

What you're about to hear is my conversation with Greg and Lucia and after our official tasting or big estation of the wines at the Divine Shopping South London just over a week before I set off for Italy.

Before that two words of warnings, one, we strongly urge you to only ever consume wine in moderation and two, those who find conversation about wine dull, pretentious or totally irrelevant to the breath of a cycling podcast, none of those are reasonable positions, should probably skip ahead in their podcast feed now.

Our wine-free cycling only race preview is coming later in the week.

Meanwhile it's chin chin salute and a toast to wine the giro and Mario Soldati.

Well that concludes the tasting official tasting.

2023 cycling podcast Divine Sellers giro vagando degustation in Buongiro to all of you and what a session it was and what a cracking selection you've picked for us Greg.

I'm joined by Greg Andrews and Lucia and I'm glad to hear that.

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