Brown Bag Blind Tasting: IGT
Blake had the ingenious idea for a new series of blog posts and I convinced (not that much persuasion actually involved) a few of my friends to partake in the adventure with me.
The Challenge:
Select three wines of the same varietal from the same region
One of each wine needs to fall into the categories of $15 and under, $20-$30, and under $100.
I also have to taste, and therefore, be blind on the purchase
The first task was to figure out a way to go and buy the wine without actually knowing what I was getting. Luckily for me, I’ve made fast friends with the manager at our favorite local wine and spirits chain, Binny’s, in Glencoe, IL. I understand that this means I have to be in the store often enough to be recognized, but let’s just chalk that up to purposes of this blog and that the same basic boss rule applies here as it did in my earlier post on how to order from a wine menu: be on a first name basis. Admittedly, Jason gave me a crazy look as I handed him my credit card and told him to bag the wine and bury the receipt in the bag so I couldn’t look; I’m pretty sure he also got into the challenge with me. He scoured the aisles and selected three IGTs from the Tuscany region. I did an earlier write-up on the granddaddy of all IGTs, Sassicaia, late last year and was excited to taste more from this rule-breaking wine category. IGT stands for Indicazione Geografica Tipica and is the third classification of Italian wine after DOC and DOCG (think Chianti and Barolo). It essentially means a wine that does not follow the rules necessary to qualify for the other two categories but still yields a great product. You may also hear them referred to as “Super Tuscans.”
The morning of, I opened up all three bottles of wine giving them ample time to breath. I checked with Jason first to confirm that he recommended based on not knowing what was hiding in the bags. Even though we all went about our work days, the excitement for the “challenge” was palpable. Almost immediately after Lauren and Lacey arrived, I ushered them into the Woffice and we buckled up to drink some wine. I think the girls would agree that there was a lot of almost nervous laughter as we took our first sips. Not that any of us would judge the other, but there is a stigma around wine that price follows taste (a big reason behind even doing the brown bag challenge) and not wanting to be put in a situation where you can’t tell which one you are supposed to think is “best.” Before I get into the tasting itself, let me get onto my soap box and say that I am a firm believer that you should drink wine that you like, not that someone else tells you you should. In writing these posts and sharing what I taste, it isn’t to assume you will too; but, hopefully help you feel more confident about trying and ultimately finding new wines to enjoy. In this case, all three of us were different in our outlook on wine - Lauren and Lacey could definitely teach me a thing or two on beer! In the end, all three of us picked the same one as our favorite… the suspense, right?
I also got these great tasting papers from Hester & Cook from my aunt for the holidays and it was the perfect time to put them to use. I’ve gotten lost on this website in wanting EVERYTHING multiple times now. Southerners REALLY know how to effortlessly entertain, and someday I plan to make to join them permanently!
Brown Bag #1 $26.99
2016 Fattoria Resta Martin Del Nero
Lacey: Very smooth, plum, fruity finish, minimal tannins, dry
Lauren: Floral, dry
Amanda: Medium to full-bodied, pepper and dark fruits, dry
Brown Bag #2 $89.99
2016 Pupille Saffredi
Lacey: Inky, long notes - lasts a long time on the palette, very long legs
Lauren: Heavier, smoky, dry with a little bite, I wish I had a steak…
Amanda: Super dry, long finish, bold and big on spice
Brown Bag #3 $10.99
2018 Villa Graziella Toscano Rosso
Lacey: Light to medium body, tart fruit, smooth, dry and peppery. Would drink this alone without any food.
Lauren: Sour, tart, light, fruity with light pepper notes
Amanda: Light to medium bodied, tart cherry
And we chose…#3 Villa Graziella Toscana ($10.99)
We agreed on the Pupille Saffredi ($89.99) and Martin Del Nero ($26.99), for next in line. We sometimes had similar reactions to what we tasted and other times picked up completely different notes. Bottom line—we enjoyed them all thoroughly, but the Villa Graziella we all agreed was an easy drinker. We all seemed to gravitate towards it. Now to be fair, in a little post research, the Pupille Saffredi has a recommended drinking window of 2022 to 2040 which means its optimal time to drink is several more years down the road. I wasn’t able to find anything on the other two, but the drinking window is a good thing to keep in mind if you aren’t tasting blind, like we were, and usually solved by a quick google search in the store. This is, of course, just another subjective recommendation, but it can help you narrow options down when making a selection. Bottom line: yummy wine can be found at all price points and IGTs are no exception. I am already excited to do the next one. . .let me know if you have a challenge in mind!
Quick Links
Binny’s Glencoe and follow Jason’s tasting adventures on his instagram
Sassicaia post
Hester & Cook home, gifts, and paper