You often hear people talk about the Super Tuscan wine, but what is it and why is it Super?

In the late 1970’s a small group of Tuscan wine makers began to experiment with new French grape varieties and new methods.

They were not following the traditional blending laws for the region and could therefore not use the certification D.O.C. (Denominazione di Origine Controllata) as a quality trademark.

These new wines were simply labeled Vino da Tavola, table wine, a term ordinarily reserved for lower quality wines.

American wine journalists found it inappropriate to call these important and expensive wines Vino da Tavola and invented therefore the term Super Tuscan, a term now used even by the Italians.

Today, the Super Tuscans are the top wines in the appellation I.G.T. (Indicazione Geografica Tipica: typical regional wine) . The expert wine- tasters of the most important wine guides decide on the ones with the best quality but it’s often the price that is the deciding factor.

Piero Antinori was the man who made the first wine described as a Super Tuscan, the “Tignanello”. He followed the example of the experiments of Tenuta San Guido Winery while making one of today’s most famous wines: the “Sassicaia”.

The most important zone of production of the Super Tuscans is Bolgheri, located along the Tuscan coast in the province of Livorno.

The Super Tuscans don’t follow any restrictions and can therefore be made with any variety of grapes, either blended or pure.

It’s the creativeness of the winemaker that makes the difference between a wine and a Super wine.