Cheap Buzz

BUZZ: Hey Marnie, I keep hearing about superwines from Italy. Do they have superpowers?

Marnie: No, they don't. Those are likely "Supertuscans." The term is informal, so it won't appear on labels, but it usually refers to nontraditional blended reds from Tuscany.

Buzz: Blending makes wine super?

Marnie: Not really. In theory, quality is what makes Supertuscans super. It helps to know the backstory, Buzz.

Buzz: Does it have mystery and intrigue?

Marnie: Actually, it does. For centuries, France was known for luxury wine, while Italy was known for bargain wine. When European countries unified their economies, all countries had to adopt French-style wine laws. To meet this obligation, the Italians defined Chianti but did so under the traditional local recipe that favored quantity over quality.

Buzz: Which made wine that wasn't so super?

Marnie: Right. The Chianti laws have since been reformed, but back in the '70s, quality-minded Tuscan vintners had their hands tied. A few visionaries ignored the law and made the best wine they could by growing French grapes, like cabernet sauvignon, or by planting vines outside the Chianti zone.

Some simply stopped diluting their best Tuscan grape, Sangiovese, with the lesser local grapes called for by law. But these wines couldn't legally be sold under traditional names. They didn't meet the definition of Chianti, and labeling by grape or political region, the way we do in the U.S., was forbidden. Some pretty spectacular wines could be sold only as "Italian table wine" under brand names like Sassicaia and Tignanello.

Buzz: That is intriguing.

Marnie: Yes. These truly great wines had no formal category. Restaurants started listing them as Supertuscans and the nickname stuck. Nowadays, there are all sorts of nontraditional reds from Tuscany, and the laws have been changed so that they may name their grapes and be labeled as basic rosso from Toscana.

While they're all still from Tuscany, not all are as superior as they once were. Supertuscans now come at every price point from $10 on up.

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