Tuscany or Toscana in Italian is one of Italy’s 20 administrative regions. Tuscany is a large region bordering Emilia-Romagna to the north and north-east, Liguria to the north-west, Le Marche to the east, Umbria to the south-east. To the south it borders with Lazio, to the west with the Tyrrhenian Sea and in its northern part, with the Ligurian Sea.
Tuscany vies with Piedmont as producing Italy’s greatest wines. Waverly Root wrote “the land of the Etruscans served as the midwife at both the birth and the rebirth of the Italian spirit… Tuscany has been the decisive source of Italian civilization. Beginning with the 3rd century BC and with the 15th century AD, at the dawn of antiquity as at the threshold of modern times, the same region of the peninsula distinguished itself by exceptional virtues.”
Political geography: Capital city: Firenze (Metropolitan City of Firenze (Florence) (FI). Provinces (10): The ten provinces of Tuscany are all named after their main city. Arezzo (AR). | Firenze (FI). | Grosseto (GR). | Livorno (LI). | Lucca (LU). | Massa Carrara (MS). | Pisa (PI). | Pistoia (PT). | Prato (PO). | Siena (SI).
Physical geography: Tuscany covers 23,000 sq km of which 67% is hilly, mountainous 25% and 8% flat (the flat land is mostly on the coast), including the Tuscan Archipelago–see below), with plantings of nearly 70,000 hectares. Mountains include the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, and Monte Amiata.
The Tuscan archipelago: This includes Capraia, Elba, Pianosa, Montecristo, and Giglio.
Climate: Warmest temperatures are in the Maremma coast and decrease as one moves north and inland becoming more continental. Rainier near the Apennines.
Viticulture: Tuscan Viticulture developed on two main soil types — macigno (sedimentary rock) and plio-Pleistocene (5-12 million years ago) sandy clays. North Tuscany is little suited to viticulture with exception of Colli di Luni which is an extension of Liguria, Lucca, Colli Apuani.
Docgs: Brunello di Montalcino. | Carmignano. | Chianti. | Chianti Classico. | Chianti Classico Gran Selezione. | Chianti Colli Senesi. | Chianti Rufina. | Aleatico dell’Elba Passito or Elba Aleatico Passito DOCG. | Montecucco Sangiovese. | Morellino di Scansano. | Suvereto. | Val di Cornia Rosso or Rosso della Val di Cornia. | Vernaccia di San Gimignano. | Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.
Docs: Ansonica Costa dell’Argentario DOC. | Barco Reale di Carmignano DOC. | Bianco dell’Empolese DOC. | Bianco di Pitigliano DOC. | Bianco di San Torpè – see San Torpè, below. | Bolgheri DOC. | Bolgheri Sassicaia DOC. | Candia dei Colli Apuani DOC. | Capalbio DOC. | Colli dell’Etruria Centrale DOC. | Colli di Luni DOC. | Colline Lucchesi DOC. | Cortona DOC. | Elba DOC. | Grance Senesi DOC. | Maremma Toscana DOC. | Montecarlo DOC. | Montecucco DOC. | Monteregio di Massa Marittima DOC. | Montescudaio DOC. | Moscadello di Montalcino DOC. | Orcia DOC. | Parrina DOC. | Pomino DOC. | Rosso di Montalcino DOC. | Rosso di Montepulciano DOC. | Rosso di San Gimignano DOC. | San Gimignano Rosato DOC. | San Gimignano Rosso DOC. | San Gimignano Vin Santo DOC. | San Gimignano Vin Santo Occhio di Pernice DOC. | San Torpè DOC. | Sant’Antimo DOC. | Sovana DOC. | Terratico di Bibbona DOC. | Terre di Casole DOC. | Terre di Pisa DOC. | Val di Cornia DOC. | Val d’Arbia DOC. | Val d’Arno di Sopra or Valdarno di Sopra DOC. | Valdichiana Toscana DOC. | Valdinievole DOC. | Vin Santo del Chianti DOC. | Vin Santo del Chianti Classico DOC. | Vin Santo del Chianti Classico DOC Occhio di Pernice. | Vin Santo del Chianti Rufina DOC. | Vin Santo del Colli Senesi DOC. | Vin Santo di Carmignano DOC. | Vin Santo di Montepulciano DOC. | Vin Santo di Montepulciano Occhio di Pernice DOC. | Vin Santo del Chianti Rufina DOC.
IGT/IGPs: Alta Valle della Greve. | Colli della Toscana Centrale IGP. | Costa Toscana IGP. | Pergola IGT. | Val di Magra IGT. | Toscana IGP. |
See also: Chianti region.
Wine styles: Sweet wines: ‘Tuscany offers some of Italy’s greatest sweet wines, ranging from the deliciously thick and sweet Vin Santo to the aromatic red aleatico, which is not unlike a black muscat wine,’ (Ian D’Agata, Vinous, Sept 2014).
Organics: In my report for the 2018 Decanter World Wine Awards blind tasting competition (for which I was Tuscany Chair) I wrote ‘Less than 15% of the Tuscan vineyard is certified organic or Biodynamic yet 30% of the top-scoring Platinum or Gold Tuscan wines this year came from either certified organic or certified Biodynamic vineyards.’
Tuscany vintages: 2011. | 2013.
Keywords: Alberese. | Capitolare. | Consultants. | Etruscans. | Galestro. | Governo all’uso Toscano. | Mezzadria. | Podere. | Predicato. | Supertuscan.
Wine grapes: Around 70% of Tuscan production comes from red grapes. In the sixteenth century the red wines of Montepulciano and the Vernaccia di San Gimignano were considered “among the noble wines of Italy.” In 1716 the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Cosimo Medici, published an edict in which the “rst zonation of Tuscan wines appears. In it, the “nest wines in Tuscany are identi”ed as coming from four areas: Chianti, Pomino, Carmignano and Valdarno. In 1870, another important nobleman and politician, Bettino Ricasoli, took over as Italian prime minister following Cavour, who had helped push for quality wines in Piedmont. Having a property in Chianti (the Castello di Brolio), Ricasoli was well aware of what was needed to improve local wines, and devised the “rst o#cial recipe by which to make Chianti: 70% Sangiovese, 20% Canaiolo Nero and 10% Malvasia Bianca Lunga. Interestingly, Trebbiano Toscano, which Ricasoli rightly viewed as a poor quality grape, was not part of the original blend. On the other hand, Malvasia Bianca Lunga featured in the Chianti blend, as it added perfume and fragrance.
Native wine grapes: Abrusco (r). | Albarola Nera (w). Aleatico (r). | Ansonica (w). | Barsaglina (r). | Biancone (w). | Bonamico (r). | Bracciola Nera (r). | Buriano (w). | Canaiolo Bianco (w). | Canaiolo Nero (r). | Ciliegiolo (r). | Colombara Nera (r). | Colorinos (r). | Foglia Tonda (r). | Gorgottesco (r). | Granè (r). | Granoir (r). | Gratena (r). | Lacrima del Valdarno. | Livornese Bianca (w). | Malvasia Bianca Lunga (w). | Malvasia Nera family. | Mammolo (r). | Mazzeze (r). | Morone (r). | Moscato Bianco (w). | Negratino (r). | Nereto (r). | Occhio di Pernice (r). | Occhiorosso (r). | Orpicchio (w). | Primaticcio (w). | Pugnitello (r). | Raspo Rosso (r). | Sanforte (r). | Sangiovese (r). | Tenerone (r). | Trebbiano Toscano (w). | Verdello (w). | Verduschia (w). | Vermentino Nero (r). | Vernaccia di San Gimignano (w). | Verucchiese (r). | Volpola.
Bibliography
Dr Ian D’Agata, Native Wine Grapes of Italy (University of California Press, 2014.
Dr Ian D’Agata, Tuscany Part 1: Chianti, Vino Nobile and Supertuscans (Sep 2014) | Vinous