At some point in 1983, a young Don Conners walked confidently into a record store and bought his first 45 single. What rock and roll classic or 80’s one-hit-wonder did young Don buy you ask? Bruce? MJ? Rush? Nope – amateurs, all of them! Instead our hero young Don bought none other than the smash hit “Ricky” from the great Weird Al Yankovic!!! “But Don”, you are thinking, “your sense of humor is so mature and sophisticated. Do you really like Weird Al?”. Ha ha. I almost typed that with a straight face. But to answer your question, yes, yes I do like Weird Al. In fact, I like him so much I was able to fulfill a bucket-list item last summer and saw the Master of Mimicry in concert – it was everything I had hoped it would be. He played all of his classic hits – Eat It, Like A Surgeon, Amish Paradise, Smells Like Nirvana, Fat (complete with costumes from video) and closed with his Star Wars hits, The Saga Begins (American Pie) and my personal favorite Weird Al song, Yoda (based on The Kinks “Lola” in case you are not familiar with it). All that was missing was his lyrical masterpiece, “Albuquerque”. For me, it was a triumphant celebration of a career built on being different.

That, for me, is what makes Weird Al so intriguing (ignoring for now that the sense of humor in his songs is right up my alley). Before he came along, there was no one doing what he does – making hit parody songs out of established hits. It was innovative and broke all the norms of the music business at the time. It took a bit of vision and an even bigger bit of courage to go against the grain – a willingness to be seen as different. Several years after buying that first 45, I bought my first Weird Al album – Dare To Be Stupid. The title track, ironically enough, while meant to imitate the style of Devo, is an original song. But its lyrics highlight the attitude of Weird Al’s music:

It’s time to let your babies grow up to be cowboys

It’s time to let the bedbugs bite

You better put all your eggs in one basket

You better count your chickens before they hatch

In short, go against the grain. Go off the beaten path. Take the road less traveled.

“This is great Don. We are glad you like Weird Al and that you think he is some kind of visionary. But what does any of this have to do with wine?” I’m glad you asked!

In 1971, Marchese Piero Antinori channeled his inner Weird Al eight years before Weird Al even began his own career.* Antinori at the time was already one of the best-known names in Italian wine, steeped in tradition. Located in the Chianti Classico region, Antinori had grown frustrated with the rules and regulations governing production of wine in his area. At that time, Chianti (which is made from the Sangiovese grape), was often blended with several white grape varieties. The resulting wines were flat and plain. Additionally, well-known international grapes (i.e. cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc) were not allowed in the wines. Antinori decided enough was enough – he was going to dare to be – well, not stupid, but different! In 1971 he released a wine called Tignanello – a blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Not only did it break the rules for what grapes could go into the wine, it was also aged in smaller barrels called barriques, which also went against the longstanding rules and traditions of Tuscan wines. As a result of all of these “rules” violations, Tignanello was forced to be labeled as a common table wine. However, it was anything but common. Its release sparked not only a commotion, but a revolution in Italian wine. Over the years, other wines in the area tried this same concept – enough so that the style became known as “Super Tuscan”, of which Tignanello is one of the most recognized and famous names. In time, it came to have its own designation of IGT, which identifies wines from a region that do not meet the normal requirements of DOC/DOCG wines but allow for additional grape varieties to be included. Today, Super Tuscans can be one of the most sought-after wines in Italy, often commanding prices above the traditional Italian wines. An entire new market created and flourishing, all because one man dared to be different.

So you will never guess what this week’s “Wine of the Week” is. Well, how about that . . . you guys were paying attention! Yup, this week’s wine is none other than the famous Tignanello – the 2019 vintage to be specific. Or “pacific” if you are a 3-year-old toddler just learning to talk but also reading a wine blog. I digress – back to the wine. The 2019 Tignanello is a blend of 80% Sangiovese, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc. I can’t tell you how excited I was to try this fabled wine for the first time. And it did not disappoint!!! After letting it decant for 2+ hours, I eagerly poured my first glass. It comes out a lovely deep purple with aromas of dark fruits and I thought I caught a whiff of vanilla. On the palette, I tasted darker fruit like blackberries, blueberries with some cherry mixed in as well. What made it special though was how balanced it was – from the entry to finish it stayed the same – full-bodied with ample tannins, but incredibly smooth. Tignanello is unquestionably a special wine meant for special occasions – coming in at around $150 – $180 a bottle, depending on the vintage, it is not your average weekday wine. But when you are looking for a wine to celebrate that special someone or amazing accomplishment, this is the wine you want. And this is the Weird Al song you want: (One More Minute) to go with it.

Life is filled with well-worn paths and roads that have been paved over by others. But each of those paths at one point in time were new and someone blazed them to make them what they are today. Weird Al and Marchese Piero Antinori both dared to be different and blazed their own paths, eschewing the well-traveled paths that already existed. Here’s hoping you take the opportunity to blaze your own path when your chance comes. After all, Wine Not?

* Tignanello was not the official first “Super Tuscan”. That honor belongs to a wine called Sassicaia, by Tenuta San Guido – bottled in 1968 and released in 1971. As much as I would have liked to written about (and tasted)  Sassicaia, it typically comes in around twice the cost of Tignanello and, well . . . money.

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