Description
La Vernaccia of San Gimignano can rightfully be considered the “wine of records” — the first Italian wine in to be awarded the DOC appellation, the first Tuscan white wine to be awarded the DOCG appellation, and one of the first Tuscan wines to be transformed into spumante.
Vernaccia di San Gimignano also has a historic wine-making tradition which no other wine in the region can boast. It is a wine full of history, whose name often recurs in the literature and poetry of the past.
But it is also a wine which has been renewed throughout the various epochs of its long history, right up until the present day, where it has found its place of honor in the oenological panorama of Italy.
Vernaccia is not, however, the only “child” of this splendid land of great wine-making potential. Chianti and a wide range of DOC and ‘LGT’ wines add to the wine-related fame of San Gimignano. Set amidst an area of superb landscapes and monuments which are unique in the world, these storied hills draw an ever increasing number of tourists; Italian and foreign alike.
Emanuele Pellucci, respected wine-journalist and writer, has returned to these vineyards after twenty years, this time with his wine-journalist daughter Agnese, to travel the San Gimignano ‘wine-road’ and get an up-close look at the new reality of Vernaccia. The Pelluccis? informative writing is accompanied by excellent line drawings by the noted and award-winning Florentine artist Pier Luigi Viti.
In this painstaking work, readers are introduced to the history of the area, its wine-making tradition, and the present-day producers of this city of medieval towers. The authors deftly profile the area’s best wine-producing estates. Each is described amply and accompanied by reproductions of their labels, as well as their addresses and contact information. There is a useful vintage chart rating Vernaccia?s vintages from 1974 and also a chart on wine production dating from 1964.
Pellucci also includes, for fortunate visitors and arm-chair tourists alike, four travel itineraries for the vineyards and wine cellars of San Gimignano. There is also information on hotels, Bed and Breakfasts, restaurants and wine bars.
