Travel

Touring Tuscany
www.drinktime.ru, 29 September 2008

The sun is magical in Tuscany.

Say, you drive down from Montalcino at the sunrise, still fighting off the remnants of sleep. The plain below is covered with milky white shroud, as the kingdom of darkness is about to retreat. Then suddenly the eye catches a bunch of rays, and you give yourself over to it. The rays mercilessly kill the night mist, as well as the drowse. They’ve gathered all the morning’s energy that rapidly charges both the nature and you. Or you travel around Chianti closer to the evening, and you see how the hills constantly change in colour. There is a moment when they look as if rose Champagne was poured on them. The landscape is so gorgeously beautiful that it makes you drunk without wine. Or you walk on a beach near Grosseto when the sun finishes its daily travel. A pregnant fire ball submerges into the sea, casting final rays on the water and on the faraway islands, dominated by Elba.

Yet nobody really comes to Tuscany for the sun. It is the culture, architecture, history and landscapes which brought fame to the generous region. People come to experience Renaissance masters in Florence and Pienza, Palio races in Siena, a falling tower in Pisa, composer Puccini in Lucca, antique shops in Arezzo, Etruscan tombs in Maremma, as well as amazing history and nature everywhere around.

The beauty of Tuscany is striking also because it was made by a man, as well as nature. One among the endless number of unforgettable examples is the view from the Castello di Brolio fortress, next to Gaiole-in-Chianti. The place is surrounded by hills on all sides, some are quite steep, while others are softly rolling. They are adorned by hick woods, vine rows, olive groves, cypress roads, separate stone buildings and red brick settlements. The nature is not a sole creator of this perfect landscape: vineyards, olive groves, roads and buildings were added to it by a man.

Like landscapes and art, winemaking seems to have always existed on the Tuscan land. Say “Chianti”, and most people will think about wine rather than the hills between Florence and Siena after which it was named. Also Montalcino owes his fame and international renown to wine. Brunello di Montalcino, one of Italy’s and the world’s finest wines, made the charming medieval town a mecca for eno-tourists.

Tuscan wine is very visual, with a picture popping up in your head for each wine production area. San Giminiano is a town with high towers; Bolgheri — a long cypress alley; Vino Nobile di Montepulciano — a fortified settlement on the top of a hill; Sant Antimo — a 10th century Roman monastery. Travelling around individual wine estates helps to bring brighter, more picturesque details to a general picture. They turn Tuscan wine in a unique drink, made not only of aromas and flavours, but of images and stories of the place.

There are plenty of stories, too, and on any subject. While in Castello di Querceto in Chianti Classico, you will learn how one of the members of the Francois family discovered several ancient treasures. Conversation will turn to fashion in Il Borro in Arezzo, as the estate belongs to the fashion designer Ferruccio Ferragamo. Modern architecture will inevitably be mentioned in Petra on the Tuscan coast — the winery was built by a famous Swiss designer Mario Botta. In Badia a Coltibuono you are likely to talk about food as well as wine thanks to a popular culinary school opened by Lorenza Medici and an excellent restaurant next to the winery.

External attributes certainly affect character and perception of the Tuscan wines, but grapes, soils and people are indispensable, too. Many different grapes grow in Tuscany, both local and international, but the true king is only one. It is Sangiovese. The famous historic wines are made with it — Chianti Classico, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and Brunello di Montalcino. Each is produced on a strictly defined territory. They embody an idea of inimitable individuality, possible only when a grape and a location are equally responsible for a wine’s character. That’s why we can expect elegance and restrained complexity from a true Chianti Classico, a more fruit forward character from Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, and power and long life from Brunello di Montalcino.

But what about famous Supertuscans? Their birth was possible thanks to winemakers’ ambitions. In the 1970-1980s, when the Supertuscans started to appear, winemakers aspired for a fundametally new level of quality, as well as tried to establish themselves on the international level, by breaking traditional rules and creating new styles of wine. Supertuscan story would not have proved so successful if it wasn’t for strong individuals who turned their ideals and dreams into reality and created a new class of original wines in Tuscany. Historically, first Supertuscans emerged in Chianti Classico, but shortly they were being made across the region. Nowadays the majority of the renowned names come from the Tuscan coast. Because of the lack of recent acclaim it became a suitable place for the boldest winemaking experiments.

Is it worth going to Tuscany just for wine? Of course, it is. Even if another programme is chosen, Tuscan wine will be nearby. It is like the sun which is always there, but different parts of Tuscany have it in their own way.