CORTONA | The traditional food and wine

The typical wine in the area

Cortona is also famous all over the world for its wine tradition. The historical researches say that the winery production of Cortona dates back to the Etruscan period, in which, thanks to the weather conditions of the area, the Etruscans planted the vineyards using a particular technique, that is based on the concept of mixing this type of cultivation with other arboreal plants. There are many scenes of banquets with some figures, on some Etruscan amphorae and vases, portrayed the moment when they drink wine. There are some written traces of the famous Roman author Plinio il Giovane, who precisely talks about the excellent wines of Etruria, praising particularly a wine called Estesiaca produced in the area of Cortona.  The DOC wine of Cortona has got mainly 3 types of wines: red, white and Vin Santo. The suitable grapes of the winery production of Cortona DOC are the ones traditionally cultivated in the production area. Among the red one are noteworthy: Sangiovese, Merlot and Syrah; among the white one: Chardonnay, Sauvignon, Grechetto wine and Tuscan Trebbiano. Among these wines the most famous is the Syrah. The first testimonies of the Syrah production date back to the 1960s, when some private companies, finding some traces inside their vineyards, decided first to develops some surveys around its genomic origin, then to cultivate it.
If you come to Cortona you have to try a good glass of wine in one of the various wine bars you can find inside the city.