Tuscany occupies a special position in the Italian wine world, for here we can find several wineries that trace their history back to the early Renaissance in the 1300-century. Names such as Frescobaldi, Antinori and Ricasoli endow Tuscan wine with a sense of history, and this helps in making Tuscany the favourite location for investors from other parts of Italy and from abroad.

Today, roughly speaking, you cannot be a millionaire in Italy without having a vineyard in Tuscany. Obviously this pushes land prices up, but only 30-40 years ago it was possible to buy a vineyard and its building in ruins for a very affordable price, because Tuscan wine was in a deep crisis – the production of the three classic Tuscan DOCs, Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano was low, the prices were low too and their quality was not very good either. The local Sangiovese grape became the villain, and the introduction of Cabernet Sauvignon and other international grape varieties created a new type of wine, called Super-Tuscans, that immediately had significant international success that restored optimism in Tuscany.

Sangiovese has got its value back again, and now, after some years of more or less successful blends of Sangiovese with one or more international varieties, there seems to be a clear tendency for Sangiovese to be once again the dominant grape variety in the classic DOCs. While other international grape varieties can also be found in other DOCs, among which Bolgheri is probably the best known.

The scenic beauty of Tuscany has overcome the recession, and today we can find a wonderful mixture of old, venerable companies as well as new, ambitious wineries and a cluster of smaller wineries. All of them work seriously on the wine with a great respect for history and a love that is only surpassed by the love for their own olive oil.