Today’s Tuscany tour with WebVisionItaly.com visits Montalcino, a region southwest of the province of Siena, to sip the world famous wine Brunello di Montalcino.
Tuscany sightseeing is not complete without visiting Montalcino. On this hill is where the earliest Tuscan people lived. Named the Etruscans, these people developed a high civilization here from 1000BC. The Etruscan civilization introduced the ancient Romans to “the good life” customs including wine making, family life, and even freedom. The Etruscan were a peace-loving people. Today it is their legacy found in the Brunello di Montalcino wine that is one of elements that makes Montalcino a world class Tuscany vacation destination.
Montalcino produces two wines that are regarded as the best red wines in Italy: Brunello di Montalcino and Rosso di Montalcino, both made from 100% Sangiovese grapes grown on the Tuscan hills around Montalcino. Though they taste relatively similar, they differ in production from the age at which the grapes are harvested; Rosso grapes are from younger vines and sit for less time in the barrel. The DOCG (which in Italian stands for Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita – or the quality assurance/legal standards for Italian wines) regulations require Brunello di Montalcino to be aged for five years, two and a half of which must be in wooden barrels to make the Brunello more elegant and full-bodied.
The number of producers of the wine has grown from only 11 in the 1960s to more than 200 today, producing some 330,000 cases of the Brunello wine annually. Brunello was the first wine to be awarded Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) status. In addition to Brunello di Montalcino and Rosso di Montalcino, a variety of Super Tuscan wines are also produced in the area, as well as the Moscadello sweet white wines for which it was most famous until the development of the Brunello wines.
Where a particular bottle of Brunello di Montalcino comes from is important. A contadino Brunello is produced by a peasant farmer who lives outside the town of Montalcino.
A Cittadino wine is produced by a village dweller who lives inside the walls and then goes each day to his plot of land located outside the Montalcino’s medieval walls.
Noble wines are produced on the land of the villas and castles located in the Tuscany countryside.
There are four zones in Montalcino where the wines are grown. Each zone produces wine that tastes different. Although all the wines are produced from the sangiovese grape, the environment including sunlight, rain, altitude, and temperature all impact the grape’s taste.
- Eastern Zone
- East/Southeast
- Western Side
- South
When you are ready to tour Tuscany be sure to contact ItalianTourism.us – the Brunello di Montalcino and Tuscany wine tour experts.
The quality of the wines from Montalcino are great. Check this out. The Il Pogione Rosso de Montalcino is a younger, much more accessible version of Brunello, but already very well-developed having a powerful character. It is also called the baby-Brunello.