Syrah is one of the most cultivated vines in the Cortona DOC area, so much so that today about 80 percent of the Doc production refers to this vine of French origins.

The organoleptic characteristics of Cortona DOC Syrah include a Ruby red, Garnet red color. The olfactory profile of Cortona DOC Syrah wine is characteristic, elegant and on the palate it is dry, harmonious.

Let's discover it and above all, let's taste it together during this visit.

 

How it works:

Upon arrival at the cellar, in the beautiful countryside of Cortona, you can take a walk and visit to  the vineyard, the cellar and the small oil mill.
If the weather permits, you will live this experience in the beautiful and panoramic pergola, otherwise in one of the elegant rooms inside.
You will have the opportunity to taste 6 different expressions of Syrah, the grape variety that made the DOC Cortona famous.

The tasting begins with a rosé, followed by a vertical of 3 annate of the Cortona DOC and finally a treat just for you who book this experience.
You will have the opportunity to taste a wine just created by the company that only people who book this experience are allow to.
All this will be accompanied by bruschetta seasoned with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, a selection of Tuscan cheeses and cured meats.
To follow, a traditional first course, which may vary based on the seasonality of the products (pasta with Cortona “smoke sauce” or pasta with Chianina ragù or pasta with garlic).
To finish, a tasting of dark chocolate from the Vestri chocolate shop and Syrah pralines.

Start time: 12:30 pm

Duration: approximately 3 hours

€ 99 per person.

 

The origins of Syrah in Cortona

Syrah is one of the most cultivated vines in the Cortona DOC area, so much so that today about 80 percent of the DOC production refers to this vine which, from its name, would not seem so native.

Yet science and some studies in recent years have demonstrated the opposite. There have been numerous reports of the arrival of this vine and many regions and/or parts of the world have listed its origin. In reality, Syrah is a vine of French origin or at least its ancestors are, as a genomic study of its DNA of Syrah speaks of its birth in the Rhone River valley.

The claim of origin by other locations such as, for example, as far as Italy is concerned, the city of Syracuse, would instead derive from incorrect transcriptions of the name of the vine made over the centuries. This can be deduced from numerous texts present at the La Vigna library, a library in Vicenza specialized in texts on agriculture and viticulture in particular. But let's come to Cortona.

 

As for the arrival of the Syrah vine in Tuscany, it is thought that one of the first to bring it was the Count of Montecarlo of Lucca, in the early twentieth century, returning from a trip to France, until arriving for private collections first in the Arezzo area, finally in the Cortona area. The first recent evidence of Syrah being used in Cortona to produce quality wines dates back to the 1960s, when some private companies, finding traces of it in their vineyards, decided to cultivate it and even before that to develop investigations into its genomic origin.

With the help of Professor Attilio Scienza and the University of Milan, detailed research was carried out, at the beginning of the 1970s, on the characteristics of the soil and the characteristics of the climate in the Cortona area. At the end of the study and research process, a vineyard defined as “experimental” was planted, where different varieties and clones of Syrah were placed in order to identify which of these best identified with the Cortona microclimate. During this study, the similarity of the Cortona climate with that of the Rhone coast was also highlighted, a wine-growing area now recognized worldwide as the home of Syrah.