This Week…
We’re finally drinking some wine! In our video, Luca, Lauren & Luca are tasting one of our favourite Fietri wines and we’re giving you the chance to buy them directly from Fietri with our discounted Uncork Italy prices! Then we explain a teeny bit about Italian wine labels and why sometimes they really don’t matter.
To catch up on previous newsletters, click here (password as always is TUSCANY).
Watch the Video
Lauren, Luca & Luca up close and personal trying our favourite Fietri wine. Luca B’s attention seeking cats steal the show. As always, password: TUSCANY (all caps).
Uncork Italy 4: Tasting Fietri from Uncork Italy on Vimeo.
Buy Fietri Wine
By clicking this button below you’ll see our favourite Fietri wine selection and have the opportunity to buy them directly from the winery at our discounted price!
Italy Wine Labels
Italy loves a good label. Wine labels like IGT, DOC & DOCG are meant to guarantee that what you taste in the bottle is the most typical iteration of what the label claims it will be… but it’s not always a guarantee of quality.
IGT – Indication of Geographical Tipical-ness
“Indicazione Geografica Tipica”
This wine needs to follow the least requirements.
In the past it was essentially table wine. In the 70s and 80s some wine makers on the Tuscan Coast started making wines outside of the DOC and DOCG labelling system and marketed them as “Super Tuscans.” Now those wines are some of the most expensive in Italy. Pays to break the rules (and have a good marketing manager and a kajillion euro to start off with and bend the world to your will).
In France, an IGT is a VdP.
In Spain it’s Vino de la Tierra.
In Germanu it’s Landwein. (loving the Germans)
DOC – Denomination of Controlled Origin
“Denominazione di Origine Controllata”
Higher restrictions than an IGT. Many Italian wines have this label.
In France it’s called AOP.
In Spain it’s DO.
In German it’s Qwualitatswein! (winner: best name)
DOCG – Denomination of Controlled and Guaranteed Origin
“Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita”
The highest restrictions of all. To get this one you send your wine in to be tasted by a board of official tasters! If you pass they send you the labels you’re allowed to use.
In France it’s called AOC.
In Spain it’s DOCa.
In Germany: Pradikatswein. (Be still my heart).
So a DOCG is the best? Not necessarily.
A DOCG wine has just ticked the most boxes and jumped through the most hoops so it’s guaranteed to be the most like what it says it is. If you’re getting a DOCG Chianti Classico. It’s going to taste like that. But many winemakers are interesting in experimenting a little and going outside the box to create really great wines. They don’t have the label but that doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t have the quality.
Tuscany’s DOCS & DOCGs
Tuscany has 6 DOCG wines and nearly 30 DOCs. About 50% of the wine production in Tuscany is DOC or DOCG.
The DOCG’s are: Chianti, Chianti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino, Carmignano Rosso, VIno Nobile di Montepulciano, Vernaccia di San Gimignano (the only white one!).
Wine Tasting in Tuscany
While the three of us have led wine tastings in the past, this week we were so excited to do our first ever Uncork Italy wine tasting for a small group of friends on a private rooftop. We tried the Fietri Rosé and two other wines that will be featured in the coming weeks.
If you’d like to book a private wine tasting, write us at uncorkitalynewsletter@gmail.com for more information.
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If you’re enjoying Uncork Italy, consider making a monthly donation to the project as low as €3 a month. In exchange, we offer exclusive additional video content, discounts on winery tours in Tuscany and more!
Next week….
We’re staying in Chianti Classico but we’re going north to meet a brother and sister team in a tiny vineyard that is less than 30 minutes drive from Florence but, surrounded by hills and pine trees with no other vineyards in sight, feels completely isolated… just as they like it!
