a grape review: wines of tuscany

by Bob Lipinski

Tuscany, located in central Italy, north of Latium, is the home of such great red wines as Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino, Carmignano, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, and of course Super-Tuscans. White wines of repute include Vernacia di San Gimignano and the incredible dessert wine, Vin Santo.


For thousands of years, Tuscany has been quietly making red wines from its stable of indigenous, local grapes such as sangiovese, canaiolo nero, ciliegiolo, colorino, and mammolo.

Its white wines, made from the local trebbiano toscano, malvasia, canaiolo bianco, and grechetto grapes, were aged sometimes for several years in oak barrels, creating amber-colored, oxidized, non-fruity wines, often with hints of vinegar.

Modern Italy--the last 30 or so years--and younger winemakers have brought plantings of international grapes such as cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, merlot, and syrah for the reds, and chardonnay and sauvignon blanc for the whites. Some top-notch Tuscan wineries to seek out are Antinori, Barbi, Castello Banfi, Castello di Verrazzano (the bridge was named after the explorer), Cecchi, Col d'Orcia, Coldisole, Rocca delle Macìe, Ruffino, and Straccali.

In 1835, Baron Bettino Ricasoli developed and defined the grape variety formula for Chianti wine, which consisted of a blend of sangiovese, canaiolo nero, and malvasia del Chianti grapes. When the DOC--for Denominazione di Origine Controllata, the Italian quality-assurance appellation--law for Chianti was instituted on August 30, 1967, the producers decided not to register a white wine as Chianti.

Chianti Classico, which is made from 80 to 100 percent sangiovese grapes, along with some optional merlot and cabernet sauvignon, becomes a riserva when it is aged for two years.

Brunello di Montalcino, often referred to as "the wine of kings and king of wines," has been made since 1842 and was the first wine to be awarded the DOCG, or Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita, in 1980. By law, it is made from 100 percent sangiovese grosso grapes, known locally as brunello grapes. It is ruby in color, deepening to garnet with age, with a bouquet and flavor of black currants, chestnuts, and violets. Some Brunello wines are capable of aging 30 or more years.

Where would the Italian wine world be without its Super- Tuscans? It is a loosely defined term, applied to wines that are made from grapes cultivated in the most prestigious vineyard sites. The wines are usually aged in new barrels. Although most producers use sangiovese as their base blend, along with some cabernet sauvignon, there is no rule as to grape varieties, and many different varieties are included. Some of these Super-Tuscan wines have been described as international inky monsters with ripe fruit and a vanilla-oak nose, having a jammy palate with big, warm alcohol, and considerable amounts of soft extract. Piero Antinori pioneered this movement in 1971 with Tignanello, a wine made from a blend of sangiovese and cabernet sauvignon.

Vin Santo is an unfortified dessert wine made from the ripest malvasia del Chianti grapes, which are tied together and either hung from the beams of a well-ventilated room or dried on straw mats. This process results in the evaporation of a high percentage of the grapes' water content, at the same time increasing the percentage of sugar. The higher the sugar content of the grape, the higher the resulting alcoholic content and the richer the final product. The grapes are crushed during the winter and the must of the grapes placed into oak barrels for about two years. The barrels are filled to three-quarter capacity, closed with cork or wooden bung, and placed in the winery's attic, exposed to heat, where the wine is left to ferment slowly.

Vin Santo is amber-brown in color with a distinctive and unmistakable nutty bouquet, and overtones of cream, apricots, and various types of nuts. In addition to its great wines, Tuscany is a virtual eating paradise when you consider an array of vegetables that include tender baby artichokes, white asparagus, curly endive, purple eggplant, and fragrant fennel bulbs. And fettunta (Tuscany's bruschetta), locally made salame, and of course pappardelle with meat sauce. Try cacciucco, a fish stew from Livorno; Florentine beef, mostly from the south; or veal cutlets or chops.

The only word you need to know in cooking or eating Tuscan food is ... simplicity!