Central Italy is the land of cypress trees, olive groves, beautiful countryside, and home to Italy's most famous wine: Chianti. Although the region produces many plain, easy-drinking wines, the best quality wines come from the Chianti Classico zone, which stretches between Siena and Florence.
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Location
Central Italy covers the wine regions forming the calf of Italy's
boot shape. Tuscany is the most significant.
Grapes
- Red: Sangiovese, Montepulciano, Cabernet
Sauvignon
- White: Trebbiano, Verdicchio, Vernaccia and Chardonnay
Look Out For
- Classico: the central, best part
of a region.
- Riserva: wine with extra aging before release.
- Rufina: the
best Chianti sub-zone after Chianti Classico.
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The Sangiovese grape is the key to most of the reds in this part of Italy, including Chianti. You'll find it in its lightest and freshest form in the inexpensive vini da tavola in every Tuscan supermarket, and at its richest and most expensive in two DOCGs, Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. These two wines require aging to soften their acidity and tannin, but you can find versions that are fruitier and can be drunk younger, such as Rosso di Montalcino and Rosso di Montepulciano.
Chianti is probably the most famous wine of Italy. It's the perfect example of the sweet-sour cherry style that dominates Italian reds, but with a good backbone of tannin, and plenty of spicy, tobacco, and herbal notes. The best producers, including Antinori, San Felice, Castell'in Villa, and Isole e Olena, make wonderful, but expensive wines.
Montepulciano is the other major red grape variety. Montepulciano d'Abruzzo shows this grape at its best, with apple-fresh and plum-rich flavours. It can also be blended with Sangiovese, such as Rosso Conero and Rosso Piceno from Marche.
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Super-Tuscans: These wines originated in the
1970's, when a group of visionary wine producers rebelled against
the Italian
wine laws that prohibited blending the indigenous Tuscan grapes
with International varieties. Although the resulting wines were
labeled
as "vini da tavola" (table wines), they were of far superior
quality, winning many awards and commanding high prices. The wines
became known as Super-Tuscans or Super Vini da Tavola.
Now, the
wine laws have changed and most of them fall within the official
classification
system. However, the producers are still
experimenting and are famed for both traditional wines like
Chianti and highly fashionable ones made from international grapes,
including
Cabernet, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Chardonnay and Viognier. |
Whites are light, dry and neutral in these parts: Vernaccia di San Gimignano, Verdicchio, Frascati, Orvieto are the best known. Lambrusco is light, fizzy white or red. The best is dry with a sharp bite, but most exported Lambrusco is sweetened, and fairly unexciting as a result.
Vin Santo (holy wine) is a traditional Tuscan speciality, produced from dried Trebbiano, Malvasia and other grapes. It can be dry or sweet, depending on whether it is intended as an aperitif or a dessert wine. This is a truly delicious wine with a taste of nuts, dried apricots and crystallized orange peel. Italians like to enjoy sweet Vin Santo with cantucci biscuits for dipping.
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