Louis Thomas speaks with Consorzio Vino Toscana president Cesare Cecchi about its efforts to “make things easier for the consumer” by changing the law. With the value of the production of Toscana IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) wines in the region of half a billion Euros (€495 million), and with more than a quarter (27%) of Tuscany’s total annual volume of wine production being designated as Toscana IGT, it is fair to say that there is a lot riding on the strength of its brand. The Consorzio Vino Toscana, led by Famiglia Cecchi’s Cesare Cecchi since 2022, is currently in the process of having the law changed to implement a number of alterations, one of which will clamp down on alternative spellings on labels. “The most important change is that up to now you could call the IGT ‘Toscana’ or ‘Toscano’ – so you could say ‘Vino Rosso Toscano’, but we would like to just have the name of the region, ‘Toscana’. In the future there will be ‘Toscana IGT’, and then it will be ‘Rosso’, ‘Bianco’, or the grape variety, for example: ‘Toscana IGT – Sangiovese’,” explained Cecchi. “We have also enlarged the number of the permitted grape varieties, including all those that producers are allowed to cultivate in the region.” The list of permitted grapes now stands at 97, 10 of which are new additions, including international varieties, such as Mourvedre and Marselan, as well as more local Tuscan examples, such as Nocchianello in both its Nero and Bianco
This Article was originally published on The Drink Business - Wine
