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Tuscany

60 000 ha under vine

Soils
Galestro schist and alberese limestone on the hills, sand and clay toward the coast
Climate
Mediterranean, tempered by hills that climb past five hundred metres

On the map

Tuscany — 60 000 haLanguedoc — 220 000 haBordeaux — 110 000 haSicily — 98 000 haVeneto — 96 000 haPuglia — 87 000 haSouthern Rhône — 66 000 haRioja — 66 000 haLoire Valley — 57 000 haEmilia-Romagna — 50 000 haKakheti — 48 000 haSouth-West France — 45 000 haPiedmont — 43 000 haDouro — 43 000 haChampagne — 34 000 haAbruzzo — 33 000 haUtiel-Requena — 32 000 haBurgundy — 29 500 haProvence — 27 000 haSardinia — 27 000 haFriuli — 25 000 haRibera del Duero — 25 000 haPenedès — 25 000 haPfalz — 23 000 haCampania — 23 000 haAlentejo — 22 000 haMinho — 21 000 haRueda — 20 000 haDão — 20 000 haMarche — 16 000 haAlsace — 15 600 haBeaujolais — 13 500 haBurgenland — 13 000 haUmbria — 12 000 haCalabria — 9 000 haMosel — 8 800 haDalmatia — 8 000 haJerez — 7 000 haCyprus — 7 000 haAttica — 6 500 haFranken — 6 100 haCorsica — 6 000 haTokaj — 5 800 haAlto Adige — 5 600 haValais — 4 800 haNorthern Rhône — 4 400 haRías Baixas — 4 300 haNahe — 4 200 haSussex & Kent — 4 000 haRheingau — 3 200 haBierzo — 3 000 haNemea — 3 000 haSavoie — 2 200 haJura — 2 000 haPriorat — 2 000 haWachau — 1 350 haValdeorras — 1 300 haSantorini — 1 100 haNaoussa — 700 haMadeira — 450 haColares — 20 haTuscanyLanguedocBordeauxSicilyVenetoPugliaSouthern RhôneRiojaLoire ValleyEmilia-RomagnaKakhetiSouth-West FrancePiedmontDouroChampagneAbruzzoUtiel-RequenaBurgundyProvenceSardiniaFriuliRibera del DueroPenedèsPfalzCampaniaAlentejoMinhoRuedaDãoMarcheAlsaceBeaujolaisBurgenlandUmbriaCalabriaMoselDalmatiaJerezCyprusAtticaFrankenCorsicaTokajAlto AdigeValaisNorthern RhôneRías BaixasNaheSussex & KentRheingauBierzoNemeaSavoieJuraPrioratWachauValdeorrasSantoriniNaoussaMadeiraColares
Blob size ≈ vineyard area · approximate locations · coastlines from Natural Earth

The Etruscans made wine here before Rome existed; the merchant republics sold it across medieval Europe — the ledgers of Datini, the merchant of Prato, price it barrel by barrel. In 1716 Cosimo III drew legal boundaries around Chianti and three other zones, among the earliest delimitations in wine, and mezzadria sharecropping shaped the hills into the vine-and-olive landscape the world knows.

Sangiovese rules the galestro schists and alberese limestone of the interior. When the DOC rules of the 1960s enshrined a diluted Chianti, Sassicaia and Tignanello answered from outside the law — the super-Tuscan revolt that pulled the whole region back to ambition.

The vineyard

Indicative share of plantings

The wines

Chianti Red wine Brunello di Montalcino Red wine

Through time

Indicative presence index, 0–100Origins & Antiquity — 10The Monastic Middle Ages — 40Exploration & the Fortified Age — 40Classifications & the Golden Age — 50Phylloxera & the World Crises — 40The Modern & New World Era — 75Antiquity10500150017001875195075
Origins & Antiquity Antiquity The Monastic Middle Ages 500 Exploration & the Fortified Age 1500 Classifications & the Golden Age 1700 Phylloxera & the World Crises 1875 The Modern & New World Era 1950