About Tuscany
Tuscany (Toscana) is the home to many cities that make fantastic wine. In the Tuscany region you’ll find fantastic cities such as Siena, Montepulciano, Florence, and many more. Tuscany borders the regions of Liguria, Emilia-Romagna, Marche, Umbria and Lazio. Rome is in the region of Lazio if that gives some perspective on geography.
Some of these cities are known for the wines that they make. If you have ever heard of Chianti, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, or Brunello di Montalcino, it’s because they are well known wines made in Tuscany. Toscana is known for Sangiovese which is a type of grape made to make these wines. Sangiovese isn’t the only grape grown in Tuscany, it just happens to be the most well-known variety. My favorite red wines happen to be made from Sangiovese grapes (wink). Tuscany is known for red wines in particular.
Toscana is hilly and warm, which is great for growing grapes. It allows the grapes to get the sunlight that they need. It can get hot in Tuscany during the summer, so the higher elevation of the hills keeps the grapes warm and cool when they need to be. While the soils vary in this region, there is a soil called Galestro which is a friable, marl-like soil. You can also find clay and sandy soils in other parts of Tuscany.
There are beautiful medieval villages in Tuscany as well as cities that sit on the side of a hill. Sometimes it takes a bit of a hike to reach the heart of the city. There are also lots of spas with thermal baths in Toscana. It is a normal weekend activity for Italians to go wine tasting in Tuscany and then go relax in the thermal baths.
It’s said that viticulture was brought to Tuscany in the 8th century BC with the settlement of the Etruscan civilization. Cultivations of the grapevines they brought with them was a big part of their agriculture.
The Roman Empire then took over Tuscany and kept the original name of the region from the Etruscans. The Roman Empire contributed their developments to the region by putting in aqueducts, roads, sewers, and new buildings. As well all know, the Roman Empire eventually fell, and after that, it was the monasteries that took over the wine in this region in the Middle Ages.
Wine was considered important and sacred to religion at this time. It was because of this that priests and monks started cultivating the vineyards around places of worship. The monks became so good at grape growing and cultivation, they started writing manuals to keep track of all of this information.
The Renaissance’s birthplace is in Florence, which is right in Toscana. It’s believed to begun in the 14th century and reached its height in the 15th century. Wine production, predictably, kept growing throughout this time until in 1716, Chianti became the first defined wine area in Italy. Learn more about Chianti
About My Weekend Trip to Tuscany
When I was studying abroad, we went to Montepulciano to do some wine tasting at Cantina De Ricci. We didn’t get to visit the vineyards, but we did get a tour of this historic cellar. It’s a pretty steep hike down to the cellar, but it was amazing to see how old the cellar was. There weren’t really any stairs because they would lead horses down with barrels or bottles of wine.
We got to try three wines— all Nobile di Montepulciano. The first two we tasted were considered true Nobile di Montepulciano, but the third one was what the winemaker considered to be his ideal Nobile di Montepulciano. I remember really liking the first and the third wines and how complex they were, but the second one was a bit off balance with the alcohol. The second wine will age very well and become balanced over time.
I ended up spending about €50 ($56.50 in 2018) for two bottles of wine to bring home to my parents because it was SO good. Plus, the wines were reasonably priced for the outstanding quality that they were.
Siena is a city rich with history and interestingly enough, there are 17 districts all distinguished by an animal. They are known for the wild boar or cinghiale (ching-ee-al-ay) in Italian. You might think that wild boar tastes like pork, but it doesn’t. It’s similar to beef in a way and tastes excellent with Tuscan red wines. Siena is also the origin of pici, which is like a thick spaghetti noodle. I tried cinghiale for the first time on pici noodles and it was delicious! It paired perfectly with the house wine the restaurant served.
On the way back to Rome, we stopped at one of the spas to relax in the thermal baths. They smelled a lot like sulfur, but once your nose adjusted to the smell, they were very relaxing. The sulfur is said to be good for your skin, which explains why my skin felt so soft after I got out.
Fun fact: They filmed part of New Moon in Montepulciano.
Wines to Look For
If Tuscan wines sound interesting to you, here are some examples of what you should search for at your local wine shop, grocery store, BevMo, etc.
Chianti Classico: Cherries, oregano, espresso, balsamic
Nobile di Montepulciano: Berries, spices, leather, tobacco
Brunello di Montalcino: Berries, chocolate, leather, violet
These wines are my favorites from the Toscana region. If you are interested in tasting other wines, ask someone in BevMo or your local wine shop about wines from Tuscany and they will be more than happy to show you.
Another thing to keep in mind is the Italian Wine Classification system. There are three important levels: Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG), Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC), and Indicazione di Geografica Tipica (IGT). DOCG is the highest classification of Italian wine, DOC is the main tier, and IGT is a level that was created to give some freedom to winemakers since the other wine classifications are based on tradition.
