Valdichiana toscana DOC

Valdichiana Toscana DOC is a controlled designation of origin created in 1972. It refers to the wine district in the Tuscan Val di Chiana lands, divided between the provinces of Arezzo and Siena.
The types of white wine – the best known is Bianco Vergine – are characterised by native DOC grape varieties, such as Trebbiano Toscano, Malvasia Bianca Lunga and Grechetto, to which Chardonnay, Pinot Bianco and Pinot Grigio have been added over time. The Valdichiana Toscana DOC white wine goes well with baked or grilled fish, as well as starters and first courses that are fish based. These varieties are also used for sparkling and semi-sparkling wine, and if they are harvested when fully ripe and then dried for a few months, they become essential for the production of Vin Santo. The red and rosé types have Sangiovese as the basic grape variety. Native black grape varieties, such as Canaiolo nero, or international varieties are then added. The Valdichiana Toscana DOC red, with its intense ruby colour, goes well with meat-based first courses, roasted or grilled meats and medium-aged cheeses, while the rosé is perfect with appetisers and white meats. The history of wine in the Val di Chiana takes us back to Etruscan times, when the people knew how to cultivate vines in the hills of this area.
In the 1st century AD, Pliny the Elder mentioned the quality of the red Talpone wine and the white Ethesiaca wine. The importance of this area’s wine in the Middle Ages can be deduced from the numerous provisions protecting the vines contained in the Statute of the Municipality of Arezzo of 1327, prohibiting hunting within the vineyards and requiring that dogs be kept tied during the ripening of the grapes. In the early 15th century, the local wines are cited as valuable by Lucca novelist Giovanni Sercambi. In the 16th century, it was Sante Lancerio, bottler to Pope Paul III Farnese, who mentions that the white wine from the Val di Chiana valley was particularly popular with the pontiff. In the 17th century, it was the turn of the Aretine physician, scientist and scholar Francesco Redi, who in his “Bacchus in Tuscany” celebrates the wines of the region and dedicates ample space to the local ones.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the organoleptic characteristics of Bianco Vergine were defined. It is the prince of Chianina white wines, with its typical straw-yellow colour, greenish reflections and dry flavour, with a slight bitter almond aftertaste. Today, the products are protected by the Consorzio Vini Valdichiana Toscana.