Costa degli Etruschi, ‘the band of Tuscan coast stretching from Livorno (called Leghorn by English speakers) in the north to Piombino in the south mainland, and on to the Isola d’Elba just off the coast from Piombino – the northern section of the Maremma – is today being marketed as the Costa degli Etruschi: Coast of the Etruscans. The DOCs it takes in include Montescudaio, Bolgheri, Val di Cornia [Suvereto] and Elba. Top wines from this area…tend to be heavily influenced by Bordeaux,’ (Nicolas Belfrage 2003, p152).

A broader view of the Etruscan coast would begin in Pisa, and thus north of Livorno, in the Chianti Colline Pisane DOCG and Terre di Pisa DOC. The gently sloping hills here comprise the westernmost wing of the Apennines, extending from the Arno river south to the Cornia river. The easternmost part borders on the hills of central Tuscany, whereas the part below Cecina touches the Colline Metallifere, the metal-rich hills below the city of Volterra. Chianti Colline Pisane (and the white San Torpè) is produced between the Arno and Cecina rivers. The Montescudaio and Bolgheri regions are further south, between the Cecina and Cornia rivers. The island of Elba is reached via the port of Piombino. 

Bibliography

Nicolas Belfrage MW, From Brunello to Zibibbo–The Wines of Tuscany, Central and Southern Italy (2nd edition, London, 2003).