On a balmy Thursday  in mid-October I took my group of Mastering Wine II students from the CIA Greystone’s Rudd Center over to Fisher Vineyards on Spring Mountain to check out a very unique Syrah vineyard.

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As of this year’s harvest, Tuscany’s Morellino di Scansano has been upgraded to DOCG, Italy’s highest quality ranking, according to that country’s Gazzetta Ufficiale. With a minimum of 85% Sangiovese and extended oak aging the wines are often compared favorably to Brunello di Montalcino.

Lombardy’s Oltrepo Pavese is another new DOCG for its Pinot Noir-based Metodo Classico sparkling wine.

This brings the total number of DOCG’s to 39.