Aaron A. Wallace

What is a super Tuscan wine? The quickest answer that I can give that is also correct is: A wine that is made in tuscany that doesn’t conform to the DOC or DOCG rules for Chianti or Chianti Classico. To go into more detail about the wines that make up the broader Super Tuscan style you have to know the history of Chianti. Until 1996 Chianti had to have at least 5-10% of white grapes in the wine. Currently Chianti and Chianti Classico must be at least 80% Sangiovese and up to 20% allowed red grapes. Any wine made in the Chianti region that doesn’t meet the grape composition that makes up the definition of Chianti can be a super tuscan. In the contemporary marketplace super tuscan has two meanings: one, the revered producers that played a role in changing the rules surrounding Chianti in the eighties and nineties bringing the wine into the modern era; and, two, any wine produced in the IGT toscana. Sassicia is an example of a classic wine first produced in 1968 with a blen...

In this video I discuss the many different types of wine that come out of the piedmont region of Italy this is a pretty big list of varieties and major regions. I think that it would make a lot of sense to break it up into three separate videos: Red, White, Sparkling.

Burgundy was my first love in the world of wine. I really liked the crisp clean citrus and green apple flavors of great steely inexpensive French Chardonnay. In this video I give a very basic overview of the way Burgundy is organized with regional appellations, village appellations, and single vineyards that have been declared premier and grand cru. I also talk about how the various winemakers and negociants have house styles that are apparent throughout the various levels of wine that the merchant produces. These videos where I start to discuss the various regions of famous wine producing countries really show the limitations of the very short youtube videos, to really explain a village in burgundy it will take many minutes just to list all of the various vineyards that have premier and grand cru status let alone to describe why they were elevated to that status.

This is a question I often spend time thinking about, having spent something like six hundred dollars on my various lapel pins occasionally I am up late at night thinking was it worth it. I think it was worth it, I know for a fact that I get interviews based on my experience and those certifications where I might not get those interviews without the certifications. I also know that I am the only person in the (very small) state of Delaware that directly interacts with the public with an advanced award from WSET. That translates into a lot of confidence on the sales floor and I think it really helps me sell the super premium and luxury bottles in my store.