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| Perhaps it could only happen in Italy. One of the oddest (and most revolutionary) aspects of Italian wine production over the last twenty-odd years has been the rise (and rise) of the so-called 'Super-Tuscans'. |  |
| The 1960's saw the introduction of the D.O.C laws, which were an attempt to restrict the damage being caused by widespread abuse of the 'big-names' in Italian wine. The name on the label was no guarantee whatsoever of quality or consistency. Unfortunately, the new laws did little to change things. So, in the late 1970's, a small group of Tuscan wine makers began to experiment with new (French) grape varieties and new methods. |  |
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| The wines they made were so avant-garde that they fell foul of the new D.O.C laws and were labeled simply 'Vini da Tavola' (VDT) - table wines - the lowest of the low. These wines were (and are) some of the finest wines ever made in Italy, and their prices were 10 or 20 times higher than an everyday 'VDT'! |  |
| Recent legislation and a new denomination - IGT, a guarantee of provenance and basic quality - would like to see VDT revert to being a simple and very basic classification. Many producers of 'Super-Tuscans', however, feel no need whatsoever to return to the fold. |  |
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