Tuscany
&
Wine
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web-site on wine in Tuscany -
Associazione del Vino Toscano
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A historian, Zeffiro
Ciuffoletti, once wrote: "Tuscany, as regards wines, has no equal the world
over, thanks to a most felicitous nature, and to a civilization of the
grapevine and of wine that has been decanted and refined over the
centuries."
Or listen to the words of Giacomo Tachis, the greatest Italian wine expert
(inventor of the perfect wine Sassicaia): "Here there is light, the sun.
Radiant sunlight and the right soil are the soul of wine. But the tradition
of the countryside and the memory of men are the solid bases of the
extraordinary Tuscan wine culture."
In fact, wine-growing, grape vines and wine have been an integral part of
Tuscan civilization for almost three millenniums, since the Etruscans first
settled in the territory.
The Etruscans imported the grapevine from the Orient and made the
cultivation of the vine an important part of agriculture. The grapevines of
Etruria were strong and wild, they grew like trees producing so many grapes
that Etruscans could sell them from the beginning on markets beyond the sea.
The Etruscans planted the grapevines along the sea - so the lands of Maremma
and the coastal regions south of Livorno were the first cradle of Tuscan
wine. The Greeks called this region of central
Italy Enotris, the "land of wine".
Shrewd merchants of the Sienese territory, in the deepest Middle Ages, systematically began to plant vineyards in the inland regions. Wine, after bread, was the food most in demand. Apart from water, there existed no other drinks. And Christianity, through the New Testament had made wine a pilaster of its most sacred rituals. Bishops, abbots, monks, priests from the country and city, began to plant vineyards around the walls of the churches, convents and monasteries. The Benedictines that were proven agriculturists wrote precious manuals on the cultivation of the grape. Wine consumption was impressive. In the 14th century the Sienese drank 419 liters a head (compared to today's barely 60 liters a head per year).
Between the
Middle Ages and the Renaissance the vineyards of Tuscany produced white
wines and a red "Vermiglio", a strong, highly esteemed wine. In 1280 the
Vernaccia also made its appearance, brought from Greece, and vineyards
started to encircle the towers of San Gimignano.
In 1348 a Franciscan friar attempted to sooth the agony of victims of the
plague with sweet wine that quickly got the name of vin santo; holy wine.
Wine was even accredited with special powers such as rejuvenating!
In 1710 the first flask of Tuscan wine crossed the boundaries of the Grand
Duchy. It was success. The Tuscan wine makers were able to meet the demand
of a market that drank huge quantities of wine. Around this time the
Sangiovese grapevine emerged amid the Sienese hills. These were the first
steps that were lead to Chianti, although it was only 1969 that Bettino
Ricasoli specified the historic area of the red wines of central Tuscany and
who, for the first time, wrote down the "recipe" of the Chianti wine,
indicating the essential importance for wine-growing and wine-making.
Chianti wine now became very important to the Florentine and Sienese regions that already in 1903 the producers formed an association to protect its quality. In 1931 the boundaries of the Chianti vineyards were established. Other wines began to protect their own names and origins, in the regions of the Vernaccia, Brunello, Vino Nobile and Carmignano.
Wine-makers in
the 50's and 60's were still pretty ignorant to the deepest secrets of the
grape structure, to extraction technique, to the exploitation of the value
of the grape-skins and to microbiology. After the war, the landowners were
in deep trouble as they were groaning under the weight of their depts. The
share-cropping system was demolished and many farmers had left the
countryside for the city where they could find a better life.
The wine in these years reflected the situation and was produced in
quantities without consideration of the quality. It was a light red wine,
poor in body, drinkable, vivacious, with a fleeting aroma. They were wines
appreciated by the people of Chianti, certainly pleasant and good, but no
longer fit to compete on international markets.
The wine in
Tuscany was saved in the late 60's when the law on protecting wines was
passed and the Vernaccia and the Chianti were the first wines to be granted
a Designation of Origin (DOC). These were not easy times, as the wine-making
now was regulated by law and old "peasant" methods were no longer admitted.
And a seemingly unbridgeable technology gap could not be closed in a brief
span of time.
Some tumultuous years passed, of study, experimentation, furious arguments
and commercial battles. Wiser wineries dared to make courageous moves,
experimenting with international grape varieties and the French barrel "barrique"
that slowly replaced over (only partly) the traditional old wooden casks.
In only 20 years'
time, the quantity of wine produced was halved and the wines started to get
a better reputation, getting prizes world-wide and positive reviews from
international wine magazines. The DOC and DOCG areas were widened and
modified to give the wineries better conditions for making better wines and
to give the wines better possibilities on the World market.
Wine cellar techniques evolved rapidly. Complementary varieties were planted
such as Cabernets, Merlot, Syrah and Chardonnay and great Super Tuscans have
shown that some of the best wines in the World can come out of Tuscany.
Tuscan wines have become very interesting; they are gentle, have intense colors, are more vinous, have spicier perfumes, and flavors that are dense, sapid and evolved.
All that is left to say that the Tuscan wine scene is still a world to discover. And there is no better way than to experience the wines where they are actually made, encountering the people that have dedicated their whole lives to this magnificent drink.