Tuscan wine is getting ready for its “Previews”, right after “BuyWine”

The market is definitely going through challenging times, while Tuscan wine, due to its high quality, its famous, historic denominations, and TGI Toscana, is healthy. Other historic wine territories are growing in its shadow, and emerging on the market, utilizing the same idea as Montepulciano and Bolgheri; that is, putting the name “Tuscany” on the label of DOC wines, as Piedmont wants to do as well with “Menzione Geografica Allargata”. Stefania Saccardi, Vice president and Councilor for Agriculture of theTuscan Region, and Francesco Mazzei, president of AVITO, the association that brings together the wine consortiums in Tuscany, confirmed as much at the start of the great tour of the Anteprime di Toscana 2025 (here, their interview with WineNews). The Tuscan Region presented ISMEA data (institute of services for agro-food market) recently in Florence, which indicate production at 2.6 million hectoliters and exports of still PDO wines in the first 10 months of 2024 at +4.8% in volume and +10% in value. The calendar of events for companies, trade and the press is full. It starts with BuyWine (February 5-6 in Lucca), just before PrimAnteprima (February 14th in Florence), the day event that officially opens the Settimana delle Anteprime di Toscana (Week of Tuscan Previews), an eagerly awaited moment when the trade press and professionals taste new vintages of the main Tuscan Consortiums. Both events are promoted by the Tuscan Region, in collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce of Florence and the organization PromoFirenze.
Previews of Tuscany will then kick off starting with tastings of the latest vintages of Nobile di Montepulciano, on February 15th and16th during the Preview at Fortezza di Montepulciano, reserved for the press, focusing on the Pievi, and ratings of the 2022 vintage of the Consortium wineries led by Andrea Rossi. Next, the star in the glasses will be Chianti Classico, on February 17th and 18th, Chianti Classico Collection, held at the Stazione Leopolda in Florence, directed by the Consortium led by Giovanni Manetti (on February 18th it opens its doors to wine lovers, who will have the opportunity to meet 218 producers). Then, Chianti and Morellino, on February 19th - Chianti Lovers & Rosso Morellino, at Fortezza da Basso in Florence, a joint event of the Chianti Wine Consortium, led by Giovanni Busi, and the Morellino di Scansano Consortium, led by Bernardo Guicciardini Calamai, reserved for the media. It will be dedicated to the new vintages of Chianti DOCG 2024, Superiore 2023 and Riserva 2022, to be released in 2025, and Morellino di Scansano DOCG 2024 and Riserva 2022, also to be released in 2025. The next event on the calendar is “L’Altra Toscana”, on February 20th, at Palazzo degli Affari in Florence (for media and professionals), with Consorzio Vini della Maremma Toscana, led by Francesco Mazzei, the president - directed by Scaramuzzi Team - which will tell a different side of Tuscan winemaking. The new vintages of 13 PDO and PGI wines will be presented for tasting together with their respective Consortiums, (Maremma Toscana, Montecucco and Montecucco Sangiovese, Cortona, Chianti Rufina, Terre di Casole, Suvereto, Val di Cornia and Rosso della Val di Cornia, Carmignano, Barco Reale di Carmignano and Vin Santo di Carmignano and TGI Tuscany). The finale will be in Valdarno di Sopra, on February 21st, at the event, “Valdarno di Sopra Day” (for media and professionals), promoted by the Consorzio della Denominazione, led by Luca Sanjust, and hosted at Il Borro, the Ferragamo family’s Relais & Châteaux in San Giustino Valdarno.
The BuyWine event will present its 15th edition at Polo Lucca Fiere, February 5th to 6th, where 210 Tuscan wine producers, selected through a regional call, and 164 buyers from 37 Countries will meet, ready to drive Made in Tuscany wine onto the markets. This year, the largest delegations are coming from Canada, the United States, Scandinavia and China, while the Asian (Vietnam, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand) and South American markets are growing rapidly. There will be 1.400 wines to taste (500 organic wines), and 50 of the 58 Tuscan denominations will be at the event, and the most famous denominations: TGI Toscana, followed by Chianti, Chianti Classico and Maremma Toscana. Following the two business days of events, buyers will have the opportunity to participate in eight different Wine Tours to discover the territory. There will be four tours organized by the Chamber of Commerce of Florence together with the Chianti Classico Consortiums, Chianti Colli Fiorentini, Chianti Rufina and TGI Toscana, dedicated to the Florentine area. The Chamber of Commerce of North West Tuscany has organized three different itineraries among the companies of Lucca, Massa and Pisa, and the Chamber of Commerce of Pistoia and Prato has organized a tour in the Carmignano and vine nursery area.
On February 14th, at Palazzo Medici Riccardi in Florence, PrimAnteprima 2025, to introduce Anteprime di Toscana, will be held. It is a day-event dedicated to specialized press, officially kicking off “Tuscan Wine Week”. Marcello Masi, Italian RaiTV journalist will open the event speaking on the past and future of the “Nectar of Bacchus”, followed by a debate in which Eugenio Giani, president of the Tuscan Region, Stefania Saccardi, vice president and Councilor for Agriculture, and Francesco Mazzei, president of AVITO will participate together with Massimo Manetti, president of the Chamber of Commerce of Florence, and Francesco Palumbo, director of Fondazione Sistema Toscana. Fabio del Bravo from the ISMEA supply chain and market analysis department will present the report specifically created for PrimAnteprima, including an update of the scenarios, trends and export data for Tuscan wine. Finally, Vice President Saccardi, and Leonardo Tozzi, president of ASET (Tuscany Wine and Food Press Association), will present the Kyle Phillips Award, named after the journalist who sadly died prematurely. The award is assigned each year to a colleague who has represented the approach of frankness, professional curiosity, lack of prejudice and impartial judgment.