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Tuscany Native Vines – First Part
Rosa D'Ancona – July 16, 2006

Introduction

Tuscany is a world famous wine region, whose historic links to the cultivation and development of vitiviniculture can be traced back to Etruscan and Roman times. Currently, the region is at the forefront among the wine production zones which act as international ambassador for the wines made in Italy.

The enological success of this region stems from a mixture of elements. First and foremost there is the environment, what the French call the terroir. With the alternating of hills, valleys and Mediterranean coastline, the regional landscape appears to be made to order for vine growing. Additionally, there's the large number of vine types grown in the region, where the native varieties have achieved excellent results, and the international vines have produced successful wines on the world market.

Though the Sangiovese grape has achieved the status of cult Tuscan variety, the Canaiolo Nero, Ciliegiolo and Aleatico must not be forgotten, as with the Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah, which must be mentioned among the international varieties grown there. Among the white grapes, the Trebbiano Toscano, Malvasia del Chianti, Vernaccia di San Gimignano, Ansonica, Canaiolo Bianco, Greco and Vermentino must be mentioned among the quality native vines, as well as the Chardonnay and Sauvignon among the international varieties. Overall, however, it is the human factor which completes the picture of the Tuscan wine world.

In fact, we must highlight the fact that it was thanks to a handful of Tuscan wine producers that the Italian enology took a new direction toward the production of quality wines in the 1970s and 80s. We are referring of course to the creator of the wines known worldwide as the Supertuscans, who started a trend which continues to this day. The ID of these wines can be synthesized as follows: Tuscan, red, concentrated, aged in barriques, finely labeled, expensive and, above all, produced outside the rules mandated by the DOC and DOCG denominations.

	Since the many DOC zones overlap, we have created three separate maps separate maps. Please point your mouse on the links below to see the other maps: Chianti Sub Denominations • Other DOC Zones

When these wines were first introduced to the Italian market, they nearly generated widespread scandal among the traditional producers of the time. We must remember that these wines, which thanks to research in the vineyards as well as in the cellar, ultimately started a revolution of sort and a trend which identifies Italian wine production abroad. When they first arrived on the market, ironically, they were sold as table wines, that is, with the denomination which was reserved by law to the basic, mass-production wines.

Today the vitivinicultural sector constitutes a significant segment of the regional economy.

According to data provided by the Assessorato Regionale all'Agricoltura (Regional Agriculture Council), there are as many as 30,000 Tuscan estates involved in vine growing, with 64,000 hectares (over 158,147 acres) of vineyards, which produce around 2.8 million hectoliters (around 740 million gallons) of wine per year, 80% of which is red. The 60% of total production bears the Denominazione di Origine Controllata, for a total of 34 DOC and six DOCG wines, but let's not forget the five IGT wine types. In this panorama, as many as 228 types of wine find their place.

The large production of DOC and DOCG wines has always marked the regional production. Suffice it to say that the first Tuscan DOC wines, the Vernaccia di San Gimignano, Brunello di Montalcino, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and Bianco di Pitigliano celebrate their 40th birthday in 2006. The process started in 1966, but still continues. In fact, recently the new DOC Pietraviva has been instituted, and two more are undergoing the national committee preliminary investigation for the assignment of the denomination: the Terratico di Bibbona and Terre di Casale.

The main market for the Tuscan wines is represented by the US. In 2005, a year in which the yearly export reached 488 million hectoliters, with a 1.6% increase over 2004, the United states imported 43.7% of the total Tuscan wine production, followed by Germany which took in 19.7%. Other countries, such as Canada, are increasing their imports, confirming the overriding role of the North American market, though new consumers such as China, India and Russia are looked upon as new interesting marketplaces. The project for a wine school, aimed at educating sommeliers and restauranteurs to appreciate Tuscan wines and pair them with the local cuisine, has been launched to specifically penetrate the Chinese market.

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