Yesterday we got off our winter asses and decided to visit a vineyard. I had been wanting to explore more of the Cortona wine region, yes there is one, and it is the only place they produce the DOC Syrah wines in Italy. It was only a 50 minute drive. And a very pleasant one at that.
Y’all probably know of Cortōna from “Under the Tuscan Sun”, the book and movie, but you probably don’t know it’s history. It is a Tuscan hill town now, but started out in about 800BC as an Etruscan city/state. It was part of Umbria. It was conquered by Rome in 310BC. Then, it was destroyed by the Goths in around 500AD. The city emerged as a Ghibelline city-state in the 13th century. Subsequently it was ruled by the Ranieri-Casali family from 1325 to 1409. Interestingly the Ranieri family was very important in the Umbertide area and the family castle is still here and hosts artists all summer. Associated with the Civitella Ranieri Foundation in NYC. Then , — and this is my favorite part — it was bought (bought!🤣) by the Medici family in 1411. It remained under Florence’s influence until the unification of Italy.
But now let’s explore Cortona wines. In Cortona, the hills and plains provide a good climate for grape growing. As always there are different growing conditions in different parts of Cortona. Cortona is not just the hill town and the slopes, but its surrounding area on the flat plain of Lake Trasimeno. Lots of sunshine tempered by cooling influences at night. The plain has sandstone underlying the soil from the Mesozoic era which influences the wines.
Most of the varieties set out in the DOP regulations in Tuscany today are “international” varieties. Cortona wines are overwhelmingly varietal (as in local), and labeled as such under the DOC law. The winery we visited Baldetti which is in the flat plain below Cortona but still in the Cortona Comune. The grapes they use are Syrah, which makes up the majority of the region’s plantings, as well as Merlot, and the Tuscan staple Sangiovese.
Baldetti was easy to reach on the flat plain. They had a nice tasting room and the property was lovely. Our host was Desiree who was fluent in English and Italian. There were three people already there so we joined them. They were all men, one lived nearby in the town of Tuoro, and the other two were visiting him, one from New York and the other Toronto. All spoke Italian so we had the tasting in Italian. We tasted a white and then three reds. One Sangiovese and the other two primarily Syrah. Their production is really tiny. We bought 6 of the white and 6 of one of the Syrahs. There was a huge difference between them, the one we picked was softer and more food friendly. Ready to drink now.
it was a lovely outing which we hope to do more often. So much to still explore around here!
