Super Tuscans

Super Tuscans are the sexy bad boys of Italian wines. From day one, they flouted their region Toscana’s wine production rules, which are set by the DOC(G) (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita), a quality assurance control system for wines which outlines that production must be done within a specified area, utilizes defined methods, and satisfies defined quality standards.

Basically, what makes a wine Super Tuscan is that it doesn’t follow the exact requirements by the DOC(G), which back then limited the percentage of Sangiovese that could be used, required a percentage of white grapes to be blended in, and forbade international varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot. After the Super Tuscans hit it big, Italy created its own wine classification, IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica). These days the DOC(G) has changed its regulations to the point where the traditional Super Tuscans would now meet its requirements.

The credit for the first Super Tuscan usually goes to marchese Mario Incisa della Rocchetta and his wine Sassicaia, which is still produced today. Piero Antinori also helped bring international attention to Super Tuscans with his wine Tignanello. While this evening we’ll likely not taste such reknowned brands, we will nonetheless taste some of the super wines from the amazing Tuscany region.

For this tasting, let’s keep it traditional and have only wines that are red grape blends only, or that have the IGT classification. Please bring your wine in a paper bag, 4 glasses, and 1 dish to share and pair with the wines.