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Simplicity
and sobriety are the fundamental
characteristics of Tuscan
cooking. Surprisingly, cooking
historians consider it the mother
of French cuisine. It all began
with the arrival in France of
Catherine di Medici's Florentine
cooks.
She
married Henry II on October 20,
1533. A girl of 14, she was
accompanied by an army of
dressmakers, hairdressers,
perfumeries, dancing instructors,
cooks and pastry
makers.
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It is said
that the latter revolutionized the art of
gastronomy, teaching generations of French
cooks.
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Flattering,
but far from the truth. Of all
the regional Italian cooking,
that of Tuscany is the most
removed from French cuisine. It
is spare, made from four or five
essential ingredients, avoiding
those sauces called disparingly
"messes." If the French learned
anything from their Italian queen
it was the art of setting the
table and that of pastry and
candy-making.
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So
although the Tuscans cannot take credit
for the birth of French cuisine, they are
responsible for having conserved the
antique recipes, based directly on the
local resources. For example, they cook
small game birds alternated with chicken
livers wrapped in salvia, laurel, and
bread crusts on a spit the same way they
did in 1400. Essential food, lacking fat,
strongly flavored, made for a population
with bright minds and a distaste for a
thick waist, faithful to the grill and the
spit. It's a tough life here for the cook,
there's no saving face with strong sauces
or fancy decorations. Simplicity is the
rule, using the finest ingredients.
Take the
famous steak "Florentine style." The best
beef comes from the Val de Chiana, usually
grilled and served with a dash of virgin
olive oil. Some of the best oil comes from
the area around Lucca, but Tuscans also
carefully hoard the oil produced on their
own farms.
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Vegetables
and greens are really appreciated
in Tuscany, first of all
Cannellini beans, small and
tender, often cooked in a
terracotta casserole. Minestrone,
including the famous "ribollita"
is made from the local
vegetables, black cabbage from
Siena, Cannellini beans and olive
oil. The name "ribollita" or
"boiled again" comes from the
second boiling of the soup which
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increases the density and improves the
flavour. It is served with
croutons.
A Tuscan
fish soup called "caciucco" mixes all
kinds of seafood including fish, molluscs,
crustaceans, eel, murey, lobster, polypus
and cuttlefish from the nearby Tirrenean
sea. It is ladled over a thick slice of
toasted bread flavoured with garlic and
enriched with a sauce of fried tomatoes
and red peppers.
You
don't need to consult the Michelin Guide
to find a good trattoria in Tuscany. The
host is gracious and will propose the
day's dishes which might include a
pheasant "as big as a turkey." Tuscans are
a strange mixture of intelligence and a
kind of gracious arrogance. (The
distinguished writer Curzio Malaparte
called them "damned Tuscans.") This
blessed land produces some of the most
celebrated products placed on Italian
tables, including black and white
truffles, raspberries, blackberries,
funghi porcini (mushrooms), as well as
cheeses made from sheep's milk and pork
products.
Tuscan
beans
Ingredients
for 4 people:
1 kilo of fresh Cannellini beans
Several sage leaves
Extravergine olive oil
Lemon, salt, and pepper
Place
the beans in a terracotta casserole, cover
them with water equal to four times their
volume. Add several sage leaves, salt and
pepper. Place the cas- serole over a low
fire from about four hours. When they are
ready add at least a soup spoon of oilive
oil, a bit of lemon juice, salt and pepper
to taste. Mix carefully and serve hot.
Wine
The
Wine Roads of Tuscany
Florence's region has shifted its stance
in the last couple of decades from a
complacent supplier of flask Chianti to
the nation's most creative producer of
premium wines. Tuscany's revolution began
in Chianti and the central hills around
Siena but quickly spread to take in the
coastal zones that were not previously
noted for vineyards.
Much of
the progress has come with classical reds,
as illustrated by the fact that four of
Italy's nine DOCGs are here - Brunello di
Montalcino, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano,
Chianti and Carmignano. But growing
success with other reds (including the
stylish table wines sometimes called
"Super Tuscans") and a new breed of whites
has enhanced the region's reputation.
Chianti,
still the dominant force in Tuscan
viniculture, has ranked as the most
Italian of wines for decades. This is
partly because it is the most voluminous
and widely sold classified wine, but also
because it has a personality that cannot
be pinned do cover a vast territory of
central Tuscany. In these often rugged
hills variations in soil and climage
contribute as much to the individuality of
each authentic estate wine as do
producers' quests for a personal style.
These variations may be confusing, but for
consumers who persist Chianti offers some
of the best quality for value in wine
today.
Since
Chianti was elevated to DOCG in 1984,its
production has sharply diminished and its
quality has markedly improved. Chianti may
be identified by its subdistricts, though
only producers of Classico - whose
consortium is symbolised by a black
rooster - have made much of a geographical
point so far. Many estates emphasise the
name of a certain vineyard or area as a
mark of distinction.
What
Chianti has in common with all the
classified red wines of Tuscany is its
major grape variety Sangiovese. In the
past varieties were often blended, but
today the emphasis is strongly on
Sangiovese. When the habitat is right, its
superior clones - Montalcino's Brunello,
Chianti's Sangioveto and Montepulciano's
Prugnolo Gentile - must be ranked with
Italy's, and the world's noblest vines.
Tuscany's
wine of greatest stature is Brunello di
Montalcino, a DOCG from a fortress town
south of Siena with reds of legendary
power and the longevity that have
commanded lofty prices. Conceived by the
Biondi Santi family a century ago,
Brunello is now produced under scores of
labels, representing small farms,
established estates and even international
corporations. Brunello production averages
less than 2 million bottles a year, but
producers also make the DOCs of Rosso di
Montalcino (a younger wine from Brunello
vines) and sweet white Moscadello di
Montalcino (from Moscato).
Not far
from Montalcino is Montepulciano with its
Vino Nobile. The "nobile" entered the name
centuries ago, apparently in homage to its
status among the nobility. The poet
Francesco Redi described Montepulciano's
red as "king of all wines." After a lapse
of decades, Vino Nobile has made an
impressive comeback under DOCG and is once
again living up to its name. Similar to
Chianti in composition, Vino Nobile can
stand with the finest reserves. The DOC
Rosso di Montepulciano is a younger
alternative.
Carmignano
rates special mention as a wine singled
out for protection by the Grand Duke of
Tuscany in 1716. Today this rare red from
Sangiovese and Cabernet has qualified as
DOCG, through the town's rose' and Vin
Santo remain as DOC. Pomino, which was
also cited in the decree of 1716, is a
high altitude DOC zone with a Chardonnay
and Pinot. Among numerous other DOC reds,
Morellino di Scansano, grown in the
coastal hills of the Maremma, seems to
have a promising future.
From
good vintages, pure Sangiovese wines are
rich in body and intricate in flavour with
deep ruby-garnet colours. Some are smooth
and round almost from the start, but
others need years to develop the nuances
of bouquet and flavour unique to well-aged
Tuscan reds. When conditions aren't right,
reds from Sangiovese can be lean, harsh
and bitter. That explains why some
producers have planted other varieties to
complement the natives. Cabernet Sauvignon
and Merlot have made progress here.
By no
means all the fine wines of Tuscany are
classified. The production of upscale
"vini da tavola," which began as a trend
in the 1970s, is now an established fact.
Sassicaia and Tignanello were the
prototypes, but now there are dozens more
that rank among the most esteemed and
expensive red wines of Italy.
Tuscan
whites rarely enjoyed much prestige in the
past, probably because most of them
consisted of the pedestrian varieties of
Trebbiano and Malvasia. Exceptions to the
rule stand out from the crowd. Vernaccia
di San Gimignano, from the ancient
Vernaccia vine, has enjoyed a rapid
revival. The rich Vin Santo, pressed from
semidried grapes and aged in small wooden
barrels, can be an exquisite - or,
sometimes, exotic - dessert or aperitif
wine.
The best
known white is Galestro, made by a group
of producers equipped to process Trebbiano
with other varieties in a fresh and fruity
table wine that is deliberately light in
weight. Recently, whites of more
complexity and character have been devised
in Tuscany, due to the introduction of
such varieties as Chardonnay, Sauvignon
and Pinot Bianco and Grigio, all of which
are finding comfortable environments in
cooler parts of the region's hills.
Since
few of the new style wines are classified,
a consortium of producers issues certain
types under four categories: Predicato del
Selvante for white based on Sauvignon
Blanc; Predicato di Biturica for red based
on Cabernet; Predicato di Cardisco for red
based on Sangiovese.
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Wine
Regions
Regional
capital: Florence
(Firenze)
Provinces: Arezzo,
Firenze, Grosseto, Livorno,
Lucca, Massa-Carrara, Pisa,
Pistoia, Siena
Tuscany
ranks 5th among the regions in
size
(22,992 square kilometers) and
9th in population
(3,577,000). Vineyards cover
86,000 hectares (4th) of which
registered DOC plots total 30,500
hectares (3rd).
Annual
wine production of 3,600,000
hectolitres (8th) includes 33% or
1,200,000 hectolitres DOC or DOCG
(tied for 2nd with Piedmont), of
which more than 85% is red.
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ABBREVIATIONS
R
= Red
W
= White
P
= Pink
Dr
= Dry
Sw
= Sweet or semisweet
Sp
= Sparkling
Fz
= Fizzy or faintly
bubbly
Ft
= Fortified
Rs
= Reserve
Sup
= Superior
Ag
=
Ageing, as required by
DOC or DOCG
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DOCG AREAS
Brunello
di Montalcino R-Dr, Ag-r, Rs Ag-5
Carmignano R-Dr, Ag-1.5, Rs Ag-3
Chianti R-Dr, Rs Ag-3 (7 subdistricts:
Classico, Colli Aretini, Colli Fiorentini,
Colli Senesi,
Colline Pisane, Montalbano, Ruffina)
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano R-Dr, Ag-2,
Rs Ag03
DOC
AREAS
Bianco
della Valdinievole W-Dr, also Vin Santo
W-Sw, Ag-3
Bianco dell'Empolese W-Dr, also Vin Santo
W-Dr/Sw, Ag-3
Bianco di Pitigliano W-Dr, also Sp
Bianco Pisano di San Torpe` W-Dr, also Vin
Santo W-Sw, Ag-3
Bianco Vergine Valdichiana W-Dr, also Fz,
Sp
Bolgheri P-W-Dr
Candia dei Colli Apuani W-Dr
Carmignano Rosato P-Dr, also Fz; Vin Santo
W-Dr/Sw, Ag-3
Colli dell'Etruria Centrale R-P-Dr, also
F2 (red may be called Vermiglio); Vin
Santo W-Dr/Sw, Ag-3
Colline Lucchesi R-W-Dr
Elba R-W-Dr, also (W) Sp
Montecarlo R-W-Dr
Montescudaio R-W-Dr
Morellino di Scansano R-Dr, Rs Ag-2
Moscadello di Montalcino W-Sw, also Fz,
Ft
Parrina R-P-W-Dr, Rs (R) Ag-3
Pomino R-Dr, Ag-1, Rs Ag-3; W-Dr, Vin
Santo W-Dr/Sw, Ag-3
Rosso di Montalcino R-Dr
Rosso di Montepulciano R-Dr
Val di Cornia R-P-W-Dr, Rs (R) Ag-3
Val D'Arbia W-Dr, also Vin Santo W-Sw,
Ag-3
Vernaccia di San Gimignano W-Dr, Rs Ag-1,
also Liquoroso W-Sw-Ft
OTHER
WINES OF NOTE
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REDS
-Dry
Acciaolo
Altero
Balifico
Barco Reale
Boscarelli
Bruno di Rocca
Brusco dei Barbi
Ca' del Pazzo
Cabreo il Borgo
Campaccio
Campora
Castello Banfi
Castelrapiti
Cepparello
Centinaia
Codirosso
Coltassala
Concerto
Elegia
Flaccianello della Pieve
Fontalloro
For Duke
Gherardino
Ghiaie della Furba
Granchiaia
Grattamacco Rosso
Grifi
Grosso Sanese
Il Sodaccio
Intistieti
I Sodi di San Niccolo`
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La
Corte
La Gioia di Riecine
La Querce
Le Pergole Torge
Le Vignacce
Logaiolo
Messer Pietro di Teuzzo
Mormoreto
Nemo
Nero del Tondo
Ornellaia
Palazzo Altesi
Percarlo
Poggio Brandi Predicato di
Biturica
Predicato di Cardisco
Querciagrande
Ripa delle More
Roncaia
Rossodi Cercatoia
Sammarco
Sangioveto di Coltibuono
Sarmento
Sassicaia
Selezione di Bongoverno
Ser Gioveto
So`dole
Solaia
Solatio Basilica
Spargolo
Stielle
Tavernelle
Terricci
Tignanello
Vallocaia
Veneroso
Vigna il Chiuso
Vigna L'Apparita
Vigna Peperino
Vigorello
Vinattieri Rosso
Vino novello
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W-Dr
Ansonica del Giglio
Belcaro
Campo del Sasso
Canonico
Casterlrapiti
Fontanelle
Fumaio
Galestro
Grattamacco Bianco
il Marzocco
il Vignola
I Sistri
Le Fagge
Le Gance
Libaio
Molino delle Balze Nebbiano
Poggio alle Gazze
Poggio Garbato
Predicato del Muschio
Predicate del Selvante
Salterio
San Angelo
Solstizio
Terre di Tufo
Torniello
Torricella
Vigna al Poggio
Villa Antinori Bianco
Vinbrusco
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