Ah…Tuscany, home to the famous historic towns of Florence and Siena, the cradle of the Renaissance. A land of rolling hills with olive groves and vines, beautiful art and architecture and delicious food and, of course, great wine. This Tuscany fast facts feature is intended to give you the low-down on those wines, the vineyards where the grapes are grown, how the wines are made and how to figure your way through the maze of different names on the labels.
Where is Tuscany anyway?
This is a hilly triangular-shaped region in central Italy tucked between the Apennine Mountains that are the spine of Italy to the east and the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian Seas (both part of the Mediterranean) to the west. To the north are the regions of Liguria and Emilia-Romagna, to the east is Marche and to the south are Umbria and Lazio.
The majority of Tuscany’s vineyards are in the hilly landscapes inland but plantations run down towards the Tuscan coast as well. Tuscany has a very long and rich viticultural heritage, planted with grapevines since the Etruscan civilisation.
Latitude and longitude
Florence: 43.7°N, 11.3°E
Altitude
The altitude of Tuscany is very varied: from sea level up to 700 m.a.s.l.
Climate and topography
The climate here is Mediterranean with hot and sunny summers and mild autumns with rain in the winters.
The climate is modified by proximity to the sea or altitude. So the southern coastal region of Maremma, where the land is closer to sea level, the temperatures are warmer than in the higher altitude inland vineyards of Chianti Clasico and Brunello, for instance.
As this is a mainly hilly area, exposure to the sun and the wind varies a lot, so temperatures can vary significantly between individual sites. This has an impact on the wine styles produced. For instance, the Chianti sub-region of Chianti Rufina is further inland, nestling in the foothills of the Apennines and some vineyards are higher than many others in Tuscany (up to 700 metres above sea level). There is also a pass-through which sea breezes blow in, cooling the vineyards. These conditions mean that while days are fairly warm, nights are cool, which slows down the ripening of the grapes. As a consequence, the very best Chianti Rufina wines have a higher acidity, enhanced aromatic expression and greater ageing potential than some other Chianti wines.
Average annual rainfall in Tuscany
Chianti: 867mm rain per year
Average temperature in summer in Tuscany
Approximately 23°C in Chianti
Average temperature in winter
Approximately 5°C in Chianti
Soils in Tuscany
This is a large region and soils vary. Montalcino and some parts of Chianti Classico have some friable marl-like soils called Galestro. Montepulciano has sand and heavy clay soils and San Gimignano has sandy soils, often over compacted clay.
Guide to Tuscany & its wine regions: Viticulture Facts
The trend across the region is to look for higher quality. This starts with the choice of rootstocks to suit the soil conditions and deciding which clone to use – particularly for Sangiovese. Planting densities are increasing in order to produce fewer, more concentrated grapes and therefore higher quality wines.
In this same quest for quality, many producers are reducing yields in a variety of ways, like green harvesting. As elsewhere around the world, viticulturists are looking to ensure their grapes reach the right level of ripeness and pick at the right time. So techniques include canopy management to ensure good exposure while avoiding sunburn, and both carrying out analytical tests and tasting the grapes regularly in order to determine the optimum harvest date.
Want to continue reading to learn about:
- Vine training in Tuscany
- Pests and diseases in Tuscany
- Grape varieties in Tuscany
- A tasting guide and technical notes on the Sangiovese grape variety
- Feature on the history and context of the Super Tuscans and the Maremma coast
- Wine regions in Tuscany
- Wine styles and winemaking in Tuscany (including Vin Santo)
- Wine rules & appellations in Tuscany
and more?
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