WINO 101

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

Happy Thursday! Also, Happy 5th of July! I hope the dawning of this fine day found all of you with the same number of digits as the dawning of the fine day that was yesterday, our nation’s birthday of sorts. If you can still count to 10, and that was the number you were able to count to yesterday, then it’s all good. For the purposes of today, though, you only need to count to seven! Seven delicious wines from Tuscany with the Carpe Vinum’s Super Summer Sipping Symposium and Terrific Tuscan Taste-O-Rama!

So what’s the deal with these wines? In Tuscany, Sangiovese is the king of the red wines. Heck, in Italy it’s the king of most of the red wines, being the most widely planted red variety. If you’re unfamiliar with the variety, it’s a hearty red variety that makes a medium to full-bodied red, fairly dry, often with cherry and gamey and meaty characteristics. If it still doesn’t sound familiar, then you’d surely recognize the name “Chianti” which is the most famous of wine districts in Tuscany. Chianti has a number of subappellations, but the most important to note are “Chianti” (naturally) and “Chianti Classico”. By Italian wine laws Chianti is made with at least 75% Sangiovese and a Chianti Classico is made with 100% Sangiovese. There is not, unfortunately, any Italian wine law against making awful wine, which Chianti does well. Over the years, I’ve had so much bad Chianti that I wondered if it was something I was doing wrong. And I was doing something wrong. I was buying bad Chianti. I shop much more carefully now and I’m here to ensure you’re doing the same.

Chianti is not the only notable wine district in Tuscany, although there are so many wine regions within Tuscany that it would take a lifetime to research them all. Okay, well, there’s 40 districts, but there are probably a billion wineries making a billion wines each, therefore it would take a lifetime to research them. We’ll do the shorter tour. The wine held in the highest esteem in Tuscany is the Brunello di Montalcino, a wine made with a local clone of Sangiovese called “Brunello”. These are powerful and long-lived wines, sometimes best after 15 or more years of cellaring. I think most of us don’t want to wait that long, or can’t afford the outrageous prices these things cost, so for the rest of us there is the Rosso di Montalcino. Also, not far from Montalcino is the other star of the region, the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. I like the wines from this region a great deal, made sweeter by the fact that it’s just fun to repeat the name of the district over and over again. Vino Nobile di Montepulciano! That’s 12 syllables of wine-y goodness.

Now a word about a term you may have heard before: Super Tuscan. This is a term for wines that follow a wine law that was created to get Italy in line with the rest of Europe’s wine trade. The designation is a middle step between the certified designation (DOC and DOCG) and the simple table wine (VdT). These are the IGT (Indicazione Geographica Tipica) wines, and they give winemakers a bit more freedom to create wines using different other-European grape varieties, usually Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. It’s also given some winemakers the freedom to create other Sangiovese-based wines outside the designated areas. Are they super? They are generally really good, but they’re only “super” if you attach a little cape to the bottle and fly it around the room singing “Super Tuscan!”. People would think you’re a bit nutty, though.

So we’ve got 2 white wines and 5 red wines, including a GOOD Chianti Classico, a couple Super Tuscans, a Rosso di Montalcino and a Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. I also have a nice, air-conditioned space. I just thought I might mention that. Y’know . . . because it’s a bit toasty out there.

So Friday, July 6th, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s:

Tuscany!!!
Le Rote 2004 Vernaccia di San Gimignano
Tenuta Ponte 2005 Falanghina IGT
Villa Trasqua 2004 Chianti Classico
Perazzeta 2004 Rita IGT (Sangiovese)
Antonio Sanguinetti 2004 Nessun Dorma IGT (Sangiovese, Merlot, Syrah)

Best of the Best!!!
Avignonesi 2004 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano
Podere Salicutti 2004 Rosso di Montalcino

A stellar deal at $10 for the First 5, $6 for the Extra 2 Premium Pours.

Hope to see you here!

Seize the Wine!

Next Friday tasting is The French Rhone!!!

M