White wines of Tuscany, Italy

July 26, 2011

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Vernaccia di San Gimignano

Famed as the first wine in Italy to be granted D.O.C status, Vernaccia di San Gimignano was once hailed as Italy’s finest white wine. If its only competition were still countless dull whites made from Trebbiano then this would probably still hold true – fortunately there are now good Chardonnays, Sauvignons and Pinot Blancs in the ring with it.

Vernaccia (this is also the name of the grape) is usually a well made, crisp and dry white with delicate fruit. Not a great wine, but a reliable and enjoyable one.

Pomino

This is a small D.O.C zone to the east of Florence that is notable for its traditional use of French grapes in its wines (much like Montecarlo near Lucca). The white (Chardonnay, Pinot Bianco and Trebbiano) was one of the early adopters of barrique aging (maturing the wine in small barrels of new oak) which subsequently became fashionable for many of Tuscanys more expensive white wines.

Vin Santo

I have tasted Vin Santo that could walk tall in the company of Sauternes; it likely spent upwards of seven years maturing in wood and was some ten times more expensive than the average supermarket bottle. Vin Santo can be a rich and luscious dessert wine (though there are ‘dry’ versions), delicious with traditional almond biscuits, but there are mass produced examples that are pretty awful.

Made from ‘raisined’ grapes that have been laid out and dried on straw mats, a good Vin Santo is rich, tasting of dried fruits and ripe apricots and has a taste that lingers on the palate for hours.

SOURCE: http://www.knowital.com/Towns/Lucca2/html/assorted_white_wines_of_tuscanClark Wine Center was built in 2003 by Hong Kong-based Yats International Leisure Philippines to become the largest wine shop in Philippines supplying Asia’s wine lovers with fine vintage wines at attractive prices. Today, this wine shop in Clark Philippines offers over 2000 selections of fine wines from all major wine regions in the world. As a leading wine supplier in Philippines, Pampanga’s Clark Wine Center offers an incomparable breadth of vintages, wines from back vintages spanning over 50 years. Clark Wine Center is located in Pampanga Clark Freeport Zone adjacent to Angeles City, just 25 minutes from Subic and 45 minutes from Manila.

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