Montecarlo Doc

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The origins of the Montecarlo wines date back to the Roman period. In the Middle Ages they already had a discrete popularity especially with the highest ecclesiastical authorities. It in fact appears that the Montecarlo white and red wines were particularly pleasing to the palates of Pope Paul the Third Farnese, Gregory the 12th and the Cardinal of Ragusa Giovanni Dominici di San Sisto, who visited the area in 1408. Regarding the latter, a curious anecdote is told: the cardinal would have so appreciated the wine offered in abundance to him on that occasion, that he ended up forgetting his blessed ring on a table. Today, Montecarlo, confirming its past, is considered one of the pearls of the Tuscan wine production and is produced in the White, Red, Vin santo and Vin santo occhio di pernice types.

How it is consumed

White Montecarlo perfectly accompanies the typical Tuscan dishes such as panzanella, marzolino, acquacotta, omelette with zoccoli, rice soup, anchovy pie and Colonnata lard. It should be served in flared wineglasses at a temperature of 8-10°C. Red Montecarlo is particularly suitable for red meat based dishes, pulses and soups but it also combines well with the traditional cheeses such as the Tuscan caciotta. It should be served in bordeaux wineglasses at a temperature of between 16 and 18°C. The Vin santo and Vin santo occhio di pernice types are desert wines ideal with deserts and the traditional dry pastries such as Prato biscuits, brigidini and the Garfagnana cake. They should be served in small stem glasses at about 10-12°C.

How it is conserved

The rules for the correct conservation of these controlled denomination of origin wines prescribe the placing of the bottles in a horizontal position on wooden shelves and in dark places, at a constant temperature of between 10 and 15°C. It is further important that humidity be around 70-75%, to prevent the corks from drying.

How it is produced

The production of the Red Montecarlo Doc foresees that fermentation of the must occurs in contact with the marc, which during this phase loses part of the substances contained in it, such as antocin and tannin. The following phases are the drawing from the vats, with the separation of the marc from the must, decanting, refinement and ageing. At the end of this period the wine is bottled. The production of White Montecarlo aims at the immediate extraction of the juice from the fruit, so that fermentation only regards the liquid part and not the peel. To this end pressing is not always carried out, to avoid further deterioration in the prime material, and often pressing is on the whole grape that serves, in substance, to separate the must from the peel and the other solid parts, reducing laceration of the peel to a minimum. After pressing the must is filtered, which consists in the removal of the particles in suspension, sulphured with sulphur dioxide and fermentation must not exceed 20°C. At the end the wine is drawn from the vats, decanted, which allows clearing of the wine. Having concluded the decanting, the product is ready for bottling. The method of production of the Vin santo types instead foresees the turning into wine of grapes subjected to natural drying. In the same manner as the production of all passito wines it is necessary to remove the stalks, as they are dry and therefore able to absorb considerable quantities of alcohol and give a bad flavour. It is then necessary to proceed with a soft pressing. After the production of must it is fermented, a process which naturally blocks upon the reaching of a high alcoholic content. The wine so obtained is then stabilised, refined and bottled

Product report