Guides

Articles

Media

E-Learning

Resources

Community

Explore

Central and Southern Italy

Table of Contents
  1. Tuscany (Toscana)
  2. Umbria
  3. Marches (Marche)
  4. Abruzzo
  5. Latium (Lazio)
  6. Molise
  7. Campania
  8. Apulia (Puglia)
  9. Basilicata
  10. Calabria
  11. Siciliy (Sicilia)
  12. Sardinia (Sardegna)

BACK TO TOP

Tuscany (Toscana)

On the Tyrrhenian Coast of Italy, the region of Tuscany has become a byword for Italian culture. A famous artistic legacy and rich history match the natural beauty of the Tuscan countryside, unfolding in waves of golden and green hills that ebb and flow between the Apennine Mountains and the sea.



Wine is deeply embedded in Tuscany’s cultural heritage—the famous medieval Florentine poet Dante Alighieri praised the Vernaccia of San Gimignano, and legislation delimiting the Chianti zone dates to 1716. The first DOC and DOCG zones to be authorized in Italy were Tuscan. Wine and commercial agriculture are big business in Tuscany, and the hills are a patchwork of olive tree groves, vineyards, and wheat fields—a natural evolution of the “promiscuous” agriculture that ancient Romans practiced, wherein these three staple crops of Tuscany were planted side by side in the same fields. In the past, Chianti was synonymous with Italian wine—and a reminder, not unfairly, of its troubled quality. Historically bottled in a fiasco due to the inferior quality of Italian glass, the squat, straw-covered Chianti bottles came to epitomize the rustic, cheap nature of Italian wine in the late 1960s, ‘70s, and ‘80s. Tuscany’s winemakers have responded with a surge in quality over the last quarter century, slashing vineyard yields and building on the successes of the “Super-Tuscan” trailblazers Marquis Mario Rocchetta, who released the first commercial vintage of Sassicaia in 1968, and his nephew Piero Antinori, whose Tignanello bottling soon followed. While the benchmark for quality has been raised significantly, it may be at the expense of typicity—the Bordeaux grapes and model of winemaking extend great influence over the modern Tuscan estate. Nonetheless
Comments

  •  Marco Caprai studied clonal selections of Sagrantino, increased the density of their plantings and decreased their yields  in the vineyard, and also use smaller barrels to age the wine. On the other hand, Paolo Bea uses larger barrels and extended maceration. Hope that helps give a little bit of insight!

  • I read "Marco Caprai and Paolo Bea demonstrate the high quality of the wine, in respectively modern and traditional fashion." in Umbria section, then what is the notable difference between the modern and  traditional style wines of Umbria? any particular difference in vinification process?!

  • Hi,

    i'm reading in the study guide that Gran Selezione was introduced in 2013, but speaking with some guys from Castello di Brolio, they told me this category was introduced in the 2009, this is an example i found on the internet sr3.wine-searcher.net/.../barone-ricasoli-castello-di-brolio-gran-selezione-chianti-classico-docg-italy-10647547.jpg. Could you please clarify?

  • , producers have the option to any aging vessel for the remainder of this aging period. The minimum aging time in wood and bottle that is stated, is as you mentioned a minimum. They're permitted to age in barrel as long as they would like, or they could leave the wine in a more neutral vessel (bottle, stainless steel, large/old barrels, etc) until the total minimum aging has been met for release.

  • Regarding an old question on Brunello di Montalcino's aging:  If it isn't released until the 5th year after harvest (6th for riserva) and it ages a minimum of 2 years in wood/4-6 mths in the bottle....    where is the wine stored until release, or between barrel aging and bottling?  

App Store Google Play
© 2026 GuildSomm

Join to continue reading.

GuildSomm members enjoy exclusive access to educational content, classes, and a robust professional network. If you're a wine professional, GuildSomm is for you! Our members represent every facet of the industry and stage of a beverage career.

Join now