Region: Tuscany

Zone:

Pomino DOC

Pomino is a relatively small area that partially overlaps the Rùfina commune in the Florence province and thus the current Chianti Rùfina DOCG zone. The vineyards are located at a height of 1300-2300 feet, and thus Tuscany’s highest.

The altitude means that the climate is colder than other places in the region, which makes Pomino best suited for white wines. Thankfully the wine cultivators are quite good at making white wines, and despite the zone’s size, they produce excellent wine on scanty space.

Pomino was formerly counted among the four large districts in Tuscany. At that time, you were almost forced to produce first class wine, which was decreed by a law issued by Grand Duke Ferdinando of Tuscany in 1716. In order to protect the quality, this decree made it possible to punish the wine cultivators who tried to take shortcuts.

Scientist, doctor and author, Francesco Redi (1626-1698) notes in one of his letters, at ”The Pomino district has become famous in Tuscan enology for the exquisite quality of the wines obtained from the grapes grown on its limestone slopes. And it is there that the Albizi and the bishops of Florence have maintained estates since times quite remote.”

As usual, the church showed a great interest in alcoholic drinks, and donated fields (with compensation, of course), but it was especially the Albizi family who played a major role in establishing the Pomino wines’ reputation.

Due to a violent political conflict in the area in the 16th century, the members of this Florentine family fled Pomino, and their flight ended in the French Provence. In the 19th century, Albizi’s descendants returned to Florence and resumed cultivating the family’s land.

An uncle to the current and recognized Frescobaldi family, Vittorio degli Albizi, put his exile to good use by learning the art of French winemaking. Thus Vittorio introduced the Merlot, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon grape varieties to Tuscany, as well as the oenological techniques developed in France.

The results weren’t long in coming. In 1889, Pomino wines were added to the list of the finest in Tuscany, a fact which is still true today, especially for the white wines.

A producer especially worth mentioning is Marchesi de´ Frescobaldi, whose winery, Tenuta di Pomino, produces some of Tuscany’s best and most modern wines. Frescobaldi owns most of the fields in the district, but there are also other smaller producers who make interesting wine.

Read more about the wines from Pomino DOC by clicking i the top menu in the right side.