Though you'll rarely find a bottle abroad, they have been making wine in this area since well before Roman, even Etruscan times. Up until not too many years ago it would have been hard to become excited about a bottle of local production. The whites tended to be bland Trebbiano affairs, lacking in fruit and often oxidised. The reds were better, but also tended to be oxidised and lacking in fruit. Recent years have seen great advances however, and a combination of innovative planting & blending, new techniques and some large investment have begun to produce some very good - even superb - wines.

Traditionally, Montecarlo is known for white and Lucca for red wines, but newer plantings have blurred the lines somewhat. The reds are typically Tuscan in that their chief grape is Sangiovese, the grape of Chianti. Small quantities of other local grapes are used to add colour and body. Try some of the newer wines that are blended with Cabernet Sauvignon and aged in oak barrels. The trend for Chardonnay has not passed the area by but, most unusually, Montecarlo growers have been using French white grape varieties in their wines since the middle of the last century.

Many producers welcome visitors to their vineyards, where it is usually possible to taste and purchase wine as well as olive oil, honey and other farm produce. Follow our wineries link to find some places to visit, and follow this link to visit Montecarlo.

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