Tuscany

Overview

One of Italy’s top wine producers, the Tuscany region is rivaled in prestige only by Piedmont in the north. Tuscany contains a number of very fine DOC and DOCG appellations within its geographical borders, and it also is the home to some very good or “vini da tavola” wines, the Super Tuscans.

By far the most important Tuscan Appellation is Chianti. Chianti is in the heart of Tuscany, centrally located within the region. Of Tuscany’s 157,000 acres of vineyards and 57 million gallons of wine, almost half of it is from Chianti. Much is exported to the US and most of it is pleasant wine meant for immediate drinking. However Chianti Classico and Chianti Classico Superiore DOCGs can produce some incredible wines that compete at the highest level. Chianti Riservas are particularly fine, coming from warm, dry vintages. These conditions transform the wine, giving it layers of ripe plums and cherries, earth, truffles, and other complexities. Many of these top Chiantis will age for over twenty years.

Chianti shares Tuscany with Brunello di Montalcino DOCG and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG, both of which produce wines of great quality. Brunello is a local variety of the Sangiovese grape, which makes wines so thick and harsh that they should age at least ten to twenty years before opening.

History

Tuscany was one of the original wine producing regions in all or Europe. The Etruscans, Tuscany’s first settlers, traded wine with the Greeks and made a name for the region. Later, Tuscany became a central part of the Roman Empire, and winemaking continued to grow and prosper.

Wineries go way back, with some family-owned estates tracing their property back to the early Medieval Age. In the sixteenth century, the Medici family of Florence made Tuscany into a formidable economic and political force, an event that provided a major boon to its wine production.

Phylloxera decimated the Tuscan vineyards in the late nineteenth century, and the region as a whole deteriorated somewhat during the mid twentieth. However, stricter laws and motivated wineries have led resurgence since the 1980s, and now Tuscany dominates Central Italy’s wine scene.

Geography

Located just north of Rome, the Tuscany Region expands north along the Apennine Mountains.

Temperature

The climate of Tuscany is warm and fairly dry, with mild winters and hot, dry summers.

Topography

Vineyards grow on sloping hillsides to provide good sun exposure and drainage. Due to the hot summers, winemakers plant heat-sensitive grapes at higher altitudes with cooler air and breezes.

Terroir

Soils are complex, with the best containing a unique rocky blend called galestro.

Important Varietals

Sangiovese: Also known as Brunello, Morellino, Prugnolo, Sangioveto, Tignolo, and Uva Canina.
Malvasia
Trebbiano: Also known as Procanico.