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The Wines
A region made especially to produce wine:
Thus appears the Montagna Fiorentina, which
encompasses two subzones of the Chianti DOCG,
Rufina and Colli Fiorentini, and also the
Pomino DOC.
The wines of the area have ancient histories,
but have kept pace with the times, and
succeed admirably in the task of reflecting
the territories where they are produced.
CHIANTI RUFINA
The earliest references to vineyards and
wine production in the town of Rufina occur
in
documents dating to the XV century. The
definitive recognition of the area's
excellence as a wine-producing region came
in 1716, with the publication of the Medici
Duke's decree that included "Pomino" among
the four geographic areas that produced the
finest Tuscan wines, together with Chianti,
the Upper Valdarno, and Carmignano. The term
Pomino, which now refers to a very limited
area, then referred to the entire area now
included in the Rufina and Pomino production
zones.
The renown of the wines was due to their
aging potential and their structure, which
made them easy to transport.
Of the seven subzones of the Chianti region,
Rufina is the smallest, extending over area
of about 12,000 hectares. The production
area falls in the communes of Pontassieve,
Pelago, Londa and Dicomano. There are at
present 650 hectares of vineyards, a number
that is increasing steadily, and the total
production is about 25,000 hectoliters.
These numbers help one to understand the
potential of a region that owes its
reputation more to the high quality of its
wines than to the quantities produced.
The area is ideally suited to viticulture
for a number of reasons. The terrain, which
consists of calcareous stones, together with
the Galestro, and Alberese rock types,
provides the vines with everything they need
to grow well. The vineyards look to the
south; this allows the grapes to ripen well,
which in turn results in wines of great
structure and concentration. Finally, the
climate: Though the summer days do get hot,
the nights are always cool, a characteristic
that keeps the grapes' acidity from dropping
off and favors the development of aromatic
compounds. The most widely planted varietal
is Sangiovese; though it Chianti Rufina can
be 100% Sangiovese, many producers prefer to
blend their Sangiovese with up to 10%
Canaiolo Nero or other red varietals.
The production of the wine is overseen by
the Consorzio del Chianti Rufina, which
includes 90% of the producers.
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