About Tuscany and Tuscan Wine

Tuscany! The very name conjures up a landscape immortalized in the works of the great Italian artists. Tuscany with its endless succession of rolling hills and valleys, dotted with ancient red roofed villages, cypress trees, olive groves and vineyards. Tuscany, the greatest repository of art in the world.

History of Tuscany
It is worth pausing here, before speaking if the great wines of Tuscany, to remind ourselves of the fascinating history of this beautiful region of central Italy - from the Etruscans 3000 years ago, the Romans to the medieval period with its conflict between the Guelphs and Ghibellines. Tuscany is the considered home of the Renaissance movement, with its riches of art, architecture and sculpture, born in cities whose very names speak of beauty and culture - Florence, Sienna, Pisa, San Gimignano. Tuscany, the birthplace of Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Botticelli. If any language was created for love, surely it must be Italian; Tuscany is the birthplace of Dante Alighieri, father of the Italian language. With this historic, cultured backdrop, it is appropriate for Tuscany to be home to some of Italy’s finest wines.

Vines of Tuscany
Vines grew in Tuscany long before the Etruscans but it was they who domesticated and bred from the feral forebears of the Sangiovese and Lambrusco. The noble Sangiovese vine is the backbone of the regions production; it provides the base for Chianti, Montepulciano and most of the Super Tuscans. Because it requires a great deal of effort to produce a full flavoured rich wine, it is most often blended with other grapes, Cabernet Sauvignon in particular, also Canaiolo, Ciliegiolo and others. By far the most important wines from Tuscany are Chianti and Chianti Classico, the signature wines. For those of a certain age, the straw covered bottles that ended up as candleholders in dubious Italian restaurants and frothy coffee bars will be familiar. The wine was Chianti Ruffino – at the time, the emphasis was on the ruff. Times have changed however and our Chiantis, from the estates of the Cecchi family for example, are testimony to the superb quality of these wines.

Drinking Tuscan Wine
Trebbiano forms the basis of wine production in Tuscany, due to its high productivity and acid conserving qualities in a hot area, although this is reserved for bulk quaffing wines. Chianti and Chianti Classico are by far the most important wine produced from this region. The landscape of Tuscany is either undulating or hilly; its hillside vineyards lie at relatively high altitudes and provide the majority of the better quality wines of the region. These conditions help provide the necessary hours and concentration of sunlight for the grapes to ripen, the growers are also aided by the significant temperature fluctuations between night and day. Tuscany is classed as Mediterranean but its winters are harsh.

Tuscan Wine Quality Control
Tuscany accounts for over 30 DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata – controlled denomination of origin). This classification was born out of pride as much as necessity. The European Common Market, a forerunner of the European Union, had given Italian wines a 2nd class image compared to the French and German wines. To improve quality and respect for its wines the Italian government set up the DOC system in 1963. In 1980 the DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita – controlled and guaranteed designation of origin) was introduced, Tuscany has half a dozen DOCG wines.

The Sussex Wine Company lists at present seventeen wines from Tuscany, they represent the epitome of the noble wines from this region.
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