Wines in Tuscany
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| The bad news: on a tour, you'll pay for your own wine. The good news: this article will help you make some good choices! |
Tuscany produces some of the most famous and tastiest wines in Italy. The characteristics of the soil, temperature, and exposure make each wine unique to its area. Even if you don't often drink wine, try some in Tuscany.
Choosing a wine can be intimidating, but the Italian government tries to help you choose something decent, even if you're clueless. In general, wines are designated to one of four categories:
Vino da Tavola (table wine) is the lowest grade — drink this one with pizza. While inexpensive vino della casa, or "house wines," fall into this category, they can be decent. Many restaurants, even modest ones, take pride in their house wine, bottling their own or working with local wineries.
Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC), a cut above table wine, is usually cheap, but can be surprisingly good. More than 700 wines have earned the DOC designation. You'll see plenty of DOC wines in Tuscany, since many come from the Chianti region, located between Florence and Siena.
Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Guarantita (DOCG) is the highest grade, and can be identified by the pink or green label on the neck and the scary price tag on the shelf. Only 21 wines in Italy can be called DOCG. They're generally a good bet if you want a quality wine, but you don't know anything else about the winemaker.
A more recently created category called Indicazione Geographica Tipica (IGT) is a broad group of wines that range from basic to some of Italy's best. It includes the "Super Tuscans" — wines that don't follow the strict "recipe" required for DOC or DOCG status, but that give local vintners more opportunity to be creative. Super Tuscans are made from a mix of international grapes (such as cabernet sauvignon) grown in Tuscany and aged in small oak barrels for only two years. The result is a lively full-bodied wine that dances all over your head...and is worth the steep price.
Visit a Tuscan enoteca (wine bar) and sample some of these wines side-by-side to figure out what you like — and what suits your pocketbook.
| How to Describe Wine in Italian | ||
|---|---|---|
dry |
secco |
SAY-koh |
sweet |
dolce |
DOHL-chay |
earthy |
terroso |
tay-ROH-zoh |
fruity |
fruttoso |
froo-TOH-zoh |
full-bodied |
corposo |
kor-POH-zoh |
elegant |
elegante |
ay-lay-GAHN-tay |
Excerpted from Rick Steves' Florence & Tuscany guidebook.