Legacy collection v
A deep dive into Tuscany and grape yields.
Tuscany
(Or Toscana to the locals), is a large area of land in central western Italy. To people both local and international, Tuscany is a picture postcard stereotype of what Italy looks like. With rolling hills lined with cypress trees and pines, small yellow bricked houses and farms with olive groves, dusty roads that weave between wheat fields and vineyards, and sunlight that reflects a natural warmth over everything it touches. Tuscany is also replete with towns and cities that are as impressive as they are ancient. Many of which have in fact had a rather large impact on the wine industry in Tuscany over the centuries, as they rose and fell from being commercial centres of trade.
You really would struggle to find many places in the world with as much historical, traditional, and enigmatic ambience as Tuscany has within every inch of its boundary.
It’s winemaking traditions start back as far as pre Roman times when the Etruscans were there, but it’s winemaking heydays really began with the rise of Florence as an economic centre. During this period the wine industry was mostly ran by nobles who managed the land around them and took taxes in the form of wine, wheat and various other commodities. This system, despite undergoing many evolutions over the centuries, in its most essential form remained the same until the late 1950’s when suddenly money became more scarce for the landowners. Wine estates fell into degradation, and were sold off. Fortunately for us there were many people with the requisite capital to continue the long tradition of viticulture in the area. Working alongside some of these old families of noble origin, as well as setting up their own successful ventures. Of course, it was not all plain sailing from this point on…
The wine laws in Italy for the last half of the 20th century were not at all conducive to the encouragement of top quality winemaking. There were conflicting rules, classifications that were politically motivated, and not enough consideration given to laws that define quality. Which leads to the question, what changed? Despite all of that, Tuscany is one of the most revered wine regions in the world!
The answer to this question is the topic of this weeks deep dive and it concerns one all important characteristic of any vintage, that is grape yield.
What is grape yield and why does it matter?
Wine facts
Grape yield is simply the amount of grapes grown in a year in a specified region, vineyard, or space. Grape yield is usually measured in one of two ways. Mass of grapes per vineyard surface, or volume of wine per vineyard surface.
From a layman’s point of view you might ask, why not grow as many grapes as you possibly can. That way you can make more wine, sell more wine, and farm the land more efficiently. However, maintaining decent wine quality is a barrier to this technique of growing as much as you possibly can. (Though it certainly hasn’t stopped people from trying).
Imagine for the moment, a vine has a limited pool of potential. When that vine produces grapes, that pool of potential is divided fairly equally between the grapes that grow. So naturally when less grapes are grown on any one vine, that pool of potential is spread more generously to each grape. And vice versa, when there are many grapes, that pool of potential is spread thinly over many grapes. This has the effect of increasing (in low yields) or decreasing (in high yields) the grapes concentration of flavour compounds, as well as its ripeness.
The way vines are encouraged to grow less grapes is of course completely artificial. A vine does not simply choose to grow less grapes. A wine grower will prune a vine more vigorously to grow less grapes, both in terms of new shoots, as well as pruning back leaves. This process of limiting the potential grape buds and forcing the plant to focus on grape production rather than leaf production has the desired effect of making a small amount of very ripe, extremely concentrated grapes.
So what does this have to do with Tuscany?
For many years the wine laws in this corner of the world were not particularly strict when it came to the amount of grapes a wine-grower could cultivate. This generosity in yield for a long time had the adverse affect of making most of the wine produced in Tuscany fall into the realm of relatively simple table wine. That's not to say there were not producers making excellent wine. There of course were, but this was sadly the minority for a fair while.
There was no one thing that changed this situation pertaining to the over-cropping of grapes. Rather a combination of many factors, including an overhaul of the DOC/DOCG systems in Italy in 1992. As well as the EU calling for all classified wine denominations to be registered in 2008, again with exacting standards applied.
Wine fact
D.O.C. stands for Denominazione di Origine Controllata (literally Controlled Designation of Origin). It is a certification applied to Italian wines that, under the law, have distinctive features of superior quality, determined by the grape varietal and the production area as well as the techniques for processing and aging. Each D.O.C. is regulated in terms of areas, production methods and sensory characteristics by a production specification. D.O.C.G meanwhile is simply the next step up. Denominazione di origine controllata e garantita is intended to be a superior classification to DOC, and is the highest classification in Italy. All DOCG wines from each producer are analysed and tasted by government–licensed judgement panel before being bottled. Once approved, the wines are “guaranteed” with a numbered governmental seal across the cap or cork, to prevent later manipulation.
Another change came about when producers started to arrive both from different Italian regions, as well as from abroad. These new producers, finding the previous DOC laws somewhat limiting, instead began to experiment with new techniques, new grapes, and an increased focus on premium quality. Often forgoing the DOC/DOCG classification altogether, and labelling their wines as the most basic Italian wine classifier, IGT.
This combination of both better laws and innovation on the ground floor is primarily what has led to the Tuscany we know today. With super Tuscan wines, generated from low yield vineyards, creating a storm in the wine investment world. An increased focus on quality, particularly by reducing grape yields across the spectrum and educating growers as to the benefits of doing so. And a wider pool of both local and international grape varieties finding their niche in this perfect wine growing region. We now have a Tuscany wine region that is world renowned for its quality, its playfulness, and of course its absolute deliciousness.
So where can I buy some of these wines?
All that remains to be said is that if you would like to invest in some of these excellent Tuscan wines, we happen to know of a place where you can go. We will be uploading our newest collection this week and it includes some absolutely wonderful examples.
For more news, knowledge, and wine chats?
As always, happy investing, and for more bite sized pieces of wine knowledge to help you navigate this fine wine market. Make sure to stay tuned for future articles, and check out our previous articles too.
Legacy collection — IV A deep dive into Rioja
Legacy collection — III Adventures with Whisky.
Legacy collection — II Burgundy and weather.
Legacy collection — I Napa Valley
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All the best!
