Italy’s most beautiful coastal winegrowing region, the Maremma, is located in southern
Tuscany.
And that, as those who have traveled in
Italy know, makes it extremely different than northern
Tuscany.
While the north boasts spectacular cities such as
Florence,
Siena and
Lucca, it also attracts hordes of tourists, which can make it difficult to get around town or land a table at a popular restaurant. You also can run into crowds at the various wine estates, most of which are open to the public.
The Maremma, on the other hand, is far more exclusive. The region is noticeably less touristy, and many of its cellars require advance reservations.
The Maremma is often referred to as “The Wild West,” and that applies both to its landscape and its winemaking. The Etruscans were making wine in northern
Tuscany thousands of years before the first vines were planted in the Maremma, and it wasn’t until the 1980s that anyone outside of
Italy had even heard of Maremman wines.
Today, the region is known as one of the early sources of the so-called “Super Tuscans,” which typically combine Sangiovese with Cabernet Sauvignon.
