Why Tuscan Wines Hide Their Grapes: A Deep Dive into Appellations

Have you ever noticed the absence of grape varieties on Tuscan wine labels? What are the fascinating reasons behind this mystery? Also, I will reveal a powerful tip to help you to tap into your intuition with amazing results, enhancing not just your wine tasting but your entire sensory experience. First thing first, we Europeans consider us very arrogantly the old wine world and everything outside Europe the new wine world. Your decision maker to buy a bottle of wine in the States will be most probably based on the brand and the grape that will be clearly written on the label. So what is an Appellation? An Appellation is a defined area that is giving the winemaker rules as you have to plant a certain grape, you have to have a certain blend, fermentation, in order to be able to call your wine an Appellation wine which will be in Italy or a DOC Why is Appellation such an important marketing tool? It's a very famous Italian oenologist that told me this story. He was visiting an international wine fair. On this wine fair he tried all the Sauvignon Blancs. You have to know that Sauvignon Blanc is one of the most planted white wine grape in the world. So at the end he was going to a French winemaker and said I have to make you big compliments. Sauvignon Blanc is really the best. And to surprise this French winemaker actually was getting really angry at him and said this is not Sauvignon Blanc, it's Sancerre. We said well but Sancerre is 100% Sauvignon Blanc, no? And this French winemaker kept insisting and said no, it's Sancerre, it's not Sauvignon Blanc. And this oenologist said well it took him actually a few years to understand that this French winemaker was right. Because if you promote your grape variety you are in competition with the whole world. But if you put your focus on the terroir you make it unique because there is only one Montepulciano, Montalcino, Siena and so on. It is a little bit like look at your husband or wife. Objectively you would say this is a woman or man but you've had experiences together and shared emotions. So you could say this romantic partner is not only a man or woman but your appellation. In this case a Chianti consists always at least of 70% of Sangiovese, a maximum of 10% being the white grapes Malvasia and Trebbiano. Native red grapes like Canaiolo Nero and Colorino as well as international varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Girard are also allowed. These add fruit tannin or softness to the final brand. Chianti is the biggest appellation in Tuscany and consisting of seven subzones. Grapes from across the region but excluding the Chianti Classico zone can be blended into the wine. Chianti is meant to be consumed while young, bright and fresh. Chianti DOCG has two higher quality categories, Superior for wines made from lower yields and straight Chianti and Reserva for wines aged at least two years before release. Chianti DOCG is divided into seven subzones Chianti Ruffina, Chianti Colli Aretini, Chianti Colli Fiorentini, Chianti Colli Sinesi, Chianti Colli Pisana, Chianti Montalbano and Chianti Montespertole. Wines made in these areas may choose to use the name of the subzones or simply be labeled as Chianti. We are diving into the Medici Code, the long lost evidence that Chianti is the OG of noble wines. Picture this, it's September 24th 1716, Cosimo III the Medici, Tuscany's Grand Duke drops an edict, it's a fancy word for a law, that changes the wine game forever. This guy was like let's make Chianti legit and boom he created the first legal wine region in the world. But why did he do it? Well Cosimo III wanted to protect quality, ensure that only the best wines came from Chianti, boost reputation, make Chianti a symbol of noble and high quality wine, prevent fraud, stop those fraudsters from selling fake Chianti. So when you have a Chianti in your hand you should first examine the subzones. You know for sure that you will find at least 70% of Sangiovese inside and Riserva or a Superior gives you an indication of the aging. You are convinced that you do not know a lot about wine? Try this, even if you are not a wine lover, you will be amazed how much unconsciously understanding of the wine you have that you are drinking. Imagine your wine as a person, Perlo is, you know yeah I have to tell you something but let's wait a little bit now, something like that. So Sangiovese is like that, it comes in your mouth, make a quick round and then goes. This kind of rosé actually is quite delicate, this freshness is... Would you like to try some of my favorite Chianti wines? Then just click on the link below and I will send you a special offer.