Wine: Super Tuscan - Red, White & Black labels

[Mike Buckley]

There are two fundamental types of red wine made in the Tuscany region of Italy -- wine made from sangiovese grapes (most notably Chianti and Brunello di Montalcino) and wine made from whatever blend of grapes the winemaker wants to use, usually choosing from among cabernet sauvignon, merlot, sangiovese, shiraz, primitivo and others.

The latter style of wine is called a Super Tuscan. Winemakers started making it in the 1970s when they were unable to convince the regulators to place fewer restrictions on making Chianti. At the time, Chianti had to be made mostly from sangiovese grapes blended with up to seven other designated grapes of which two were actually white wine grapes. But none of those seven other grapes produced the bold style of wine the rest of the world had become enamored with and winemakers weren't allowed to make Chianti solely from sangiovese.

So, the Chianti winemakers began making wine using the grapes mentioned above though not labeling the wine as Chianti. The Super Tuscans became so poplular and profitable -- they are often the most expensive wines made in Italy -- that there was a real threat that very little Chianti would be made. Regulators gave in over the decades and it is now legal to make Chianti solely from sangiovese grapes.

I regularly buy the three Super Tuscans shown below because WinesTilSoldOut.com makes them available at a good price and because they are consistently good. They are the red, white and black labels of the I Balzini winery. The winery has two other labels (green and pink, with pink being a rosé) but I've never seen them.

I decided to photograph these three Super Tuscans in a style that reflects the style of all Super Tuscan wines -- reasonably big and bold.

Considering the number of photos I've made of glass, you would think it would be getting easy for me to make them. Not so. It took me six tries to get this with no major flaws. Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh!

[Shadowman]

Nice, well blended colors and background.

[deetheturk]

Great image Mike,well worth all your effort!

[Loose Canon]

Of all your glass work I think this one is my personal fave Mike!

The “bold” style works very well here.

All the time I was shooting for the glass blowers it was always the same. Gray background and at most maybe some gradient. That’s fine and that’s what they had to have but looking back it kind of got a little monotonous at times. I think the color background halo really adds another dimension to a shot. Especially when it is a color that totally complements the subject(s) as it does here.

I also think your labels here are the best lit and most visible yet. They really jump out at you.

Nice work Mike.

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, everyone!

Terry: Thanks for noticing that the labels pop. Sometimes I want them to have a subdued look. Definitely not this time. Ironically, I think the background and tabletop do as much to make the labels jump out of the image as anything.

By the way, after all the handling those bottles had from the time they were filled in Italy to the time they finally made their way to my home, you can imagine the digital repair work that I had to do to them to make them presentable. The label shown below is SOOC and is in the best condition by far of my bottles with the black label. The bright white spots in the top area are not glare; they are the white paper showing where the black surface is missing. Sheesh!

[Brownbear]

Hi Mike,

Stunning image! And another of my all-time favourites of your images. I love the colours (black, red, white and gold combo), lighting, highlights and the way bottles stand out. Perhaps gold in the background would also work wonderfully.

Why is it that I can see the first two letters of Black, ie; B in your crop but not in the center bottle? Just curious as I'm sure there is something to learn from why this is so.

Thank you.

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, Christina!

Why is it that I can see the first two letters of Black, ie; B in your crop but not in the center bottle?

That has to do mostly with image size. The crop displays the label at more than twice the magnification of when it is displayed in the image of the three bottles. If you click the image of the three bottles twice to display it at the size uploaded to CiC, you can see all of the letters in the word, "black." The first two letters are still darker than the others due to the curvature of the bottle and its impact on the direct reflection of the lettering, but they are easily observed.

[Brownbear]

Its always a pleasure to view and comment on your beautiful images.


Thank you for sharing. Good to know. Indeed I can see the remaining two letters.

[ShaneS]

Great colors and presentation on this one Mike! The bottles almost appear to be floating...

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, Shane!