Sassicaia
Producer: tenuta-san-guido
The founding Super Tuscan. Bordeaux cuttings planted at Bolgheri in 1944 by Mario Incisa della Rocchetta; granted its own single-estate DOC in 1994.
Price: EUR 250 to 500 at retail
Italy's most storied wine region, from Brunello and Chianti Classico DOCG to the Bolgheri Super Tuscans that broke the appellation rules.
Drink your way through Tuscany
Map of Tuscany
Every vineyard, tasting room, wine bar and cellar we cover in Tuscany, pinned. Click a pin for the page.
Signature wines of Tuscany
The iconic bottles that define Tuscany.
Tignanello
Producer: marchesi-antinori
The Super Tuscan that broke Chianti Classico DOCG rules in 1971 by blending Sangiovese with Cabernet and ageing in French barrique. Still a global benchmark.
Price: EUR 100 to 160 at retail
Solaia
Producer: marchesi-antinori
Cabernet-led counterpart to Tignanello, from the same Tenuta Tignanello hillside. The 1997 vintage was the first Italian wine ever named Wine Spectator's Wine of the Year (2000, 98 points).
Price: EUR 280 to 450 at retail
Ornellaia
Producer: tenuta-dell-ornellaia
Lodovico Antinori's Bolgheri Superiore DOC Bordeaux-blend flagship, founded 1981 and now owned by Frescobaldi. A coastal-Tuscan benchmark for the Bordeaux idiom.
Price: EUR 200 to 350 at retail
Masseto
Producer: masseto
Italy's most prestigious Merlot. A 7-hectare blue-clay parcel inside the Ornellaia estate, with its own dedicated cellar since 2020. A reference Merlot worldwide.
Price: EUR 1000 to 2500 at retail
Biondi-Santi Brunello di Montalcino Riserva
Producer: biondi-santi
The founding Brunello Riserva, released only in exceptional vintages from the 1888-bottled estate. EPI Group ownership since 2017. Famous library vintages 1955.
Price: EUR 800 to 2500 at retail
Vineyards to know in Tuscany
A handful of the estates we send friends to when they are in Tuscany.
Marchesi Antinori
The Antinori family has produced wine in Tuscany since 1385. Anchored by the Tignanello estate in Chianti Classico, the parent house also owns Bolgheri's Guado al Tasso under a separate producer slug.
Signature: tignanello, solaia, marchese-antinori-chianti-classico-riserva, villa-antinori-chianti-classico-riserva
Castello di Ama
Founded in 1972 in the hamlet of Ama at Gaiole in Chianti, the estate produces single-vineyard Gran Selezione bottlings from Bellavista and La Casuccia and pairs the wine programme with a contemporary art collection.
Signature: castello-di-ama-vigneto-bellavista, castello-di-ama-vigneto-la-casuccia, castello-di-ama-haiku, castello-di-ama-l-apparita
Felsina
Castelnuovo Berardenga estate established 1966 by Domenico Poggiali. Sangiovese-focused with the Rancia Gran Selezione and the IGT Fontalloro forming the core of the range.
Signature: felsina-rancia-chianti-classico-riserva, felsina-fontalloro, felsina-berardenga-chianti-classico
Fontodi
Panzano estate in the Conca d'Oro amphitheatre, owned by the Manetti family since 1968 and ICEA-organic certified since 1990. Flaccianello della Pieve is the flagship Sangiovese IGT.
Signature: fontodi-flaccianello-della-pieve, fontodi-vigna-del-sorbo, fontodi-chianti-classico
Isole e Olena
Founded in 1956 by the De Marchi family; the EPI Group acquired the estate in 2022. The Cepparello pure Sangiovese IGT remains the flagship alongside the Chianti Classico.
Signature: isole-e-olena-cepparello, isole-e-olena-chianti-classico, isole-e-olena-collezione-de-marchi-syrah
San Felice
Castelnuovo Berardenga estate combining a Relais & Chateaux resort with a Chianti Classico programme that recovered the indigenous Pugnitello grape from near-extinction.
Signature: san-felice-il-grigio-gran-selezione, san-felice-vigorello, san-felice-pugnitello
Sub-appellations of Tuscany
Chianti Classico (Chianti Classico/Gallo Nero/Chianti Classico DOCG)
Cypress-lined ridgelines, stone borghi and Sangiovese vineyards from Greve to Castelnuovo Berardenga; the historic heart of Tuscan wine.
Also: Chianti Classico DOCG
Brunello di Montalcino (Brunello di Montalcino/Montalcino/Brunello)
Sun-baked Sangiovese Grosso vineyards around a fortified hilltop town; austere, age-worthy reds that define Italian wine prestige.
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano (Vino Nobile di Montepulciano/Montepulciano/Prugnolo Gentile)
Renaissance hilltop town surrounded by Prugnolo Gentile terraces; structured Sangiovese with the 2025 Pieve cru classification reshaping the appellation.
Bolgheri (Bolgheri/Bolgheri DOC/Super Tuscan coast)
Cypress avenue, sea-tempered gravels and Bordeaux-cloned reds; the Tyrrhenian terroir that defined the Super Tuscan category.
Also: Bolgheri DOC
Carmignano (Carmignano/Carmignano DOCG)
Compact DOCG west of Florence with Medici-era Cabernet history; quietly proto-Super-Tuscan and led by Capezzana.
Also: Carmignano DOCG
Vernaccia di San Gimignano (Vernaccia di San Gimignano/Vernaccia/San Gimignano)
Stone towers, sandstone slopes and a citrus-driven white that was Italy's first DOC; the only DOCG white in central Tuscany.
Tuscany wine, FAQ
When is the best time to visit Tuscany for wine?
Peak wine-travel season in Tuscany is spring through autumn, with harvest the standout window.
Do I need an appointment to taste at Tuscany estates?
classified-growth and grand-cru estates require booking days to weeks ahead; smaller family domaines often take walk-ins midweek.
What hours do Tuscany cellars and tasting rooms keep?
most estates open 10:00 to 17:00 by appointment, often closed Sunday and Monday.
How does tipping work at Tuscany tastings?
tipping is not expected at tastings; buying a bottle from the cellar door is the customary thank-you.
What is the one wine to try in Tuscany?
If you only open one bottle, open Sassicaia by tenuta-san-guido. It is the wine most associated with Tuscany.