Winter was mild and dry, springtime was warm, therefore the vines started the vegetative cycle early (blooming and flowering phases), and this influenced all the following phases (setting – start of berry formation – and veraison – when the grapes change colour). In general (although it depends on the zone) July was H T W warm, but it got cooler in August and there were rains that re-balanced the vines so that the ripening phase was complete before harvest. Harvest was early. The producers reported an excellent harvest and expect great 2007 wines.

SAN PANCRAZIO (Province of Florence): Riccardo Galli agronomist-oenologist of Fattoria di Lucignano (Chianti Colli Fiorentini DOCG): “A fantastic harvest. Although the summer was generally dry, there were some rains so that the vines did not suffer. …Ripening of the clusters was good and at harvest they were perfect. Grape yield was similar to 2006. The progress of alcoholic fermentation was optimal and the quality of wines is high. We started picking during the last ten days of September and finished around the 10t h of October…”

MONTI IN CHIANTI (Province of Siena): Luca Martini – San Giusto a Rentennano (Chianti Classico DOCG): “..winter was warm, blooming and flowering of the vines was 20 days early, but then we harvested one week early…..2007 is an exceptional vintage, the wines are very fresh with a good alcohol content. Macerations with the skins are very long (up to 35 days for Percarlo, 13-14 days for Chianti Classico and 18 days for Chianti Classico Riserva). Grape yield was 15% higher than usual. This is due to the fact that we dropped 30% of fruit instead of 50%. In 2007 we cut off the “wings” of the clusters (instead of whole clusters) in order to slow down ripening. This is a very demanding job as it required 1,400 hours of labour instead of 900-1,000 hours (when whole clusters are cut off during green harvest). We started picking Merlot on the 20-21 September and finished harvesting on the 5th of October…”

PANZANO (Province of Florence): Luca Orsini owner of Le Cinciole (Chianti Classico DOCG): “I am very happy. The vegetative cycle started and finished early. The grapes changed colour on the 15t h of July (we never experienced such an early “veraison”). The summer was not too hot so that the plants did not suffer from water stress nor were there any interruptions during the ripening phase. The development of the grapes was ideal. The quality of the grapes was excellent, so is the colour and polyphenol and alcohol content in the wines. Taking 2006 and 2007 into consideration it is difficult to tell which one is the best vintage. As the grape yield in our estate is normally low due to green harvest, this year we had an average production. Grapes were beautiful and flawless before we started picking…….2007 is an excellent vintage..”

MURLO (Province of Siena): Ranuccio Neri owner of Azienda Agricola Campriano (Chianti Colli Senesi DOCG) :”…it was very dry from May till August. We had cultivated the soil correctly so that the vines had a good water supply. There was rain on the 8t h and 31st of August…The grapes were in a good condition at harvest. The wines have an excellent alcohol content. 2007 is a vintage that is similar to 2006 and they are both suitable for the production of riserva wines. The forecast for 2007 wines is excellent…”

MONTALCINO (Province of Siena) CASTELNUOVO DELL’ABATE: Andrea Cortonesi owner of Azienda Agricola Uccelliera (Brunello di Montalcino DOCG, Rosso di Montalcino DOC): “..a vintage with little water. Winter was warm and dry. In July it was extremely hot. Luckily there were rains in August and this made 2007 become an important vintage with exceptional quality peaks. An excellent vintage. A careful selection of clusters during harvest was extremely important. Forecast for wines is extremely good. At the end of the ripening phase the clusters increased in size so that we had a limited loss in grape yield. The vines used the water supply in the best way possible. We started picking on the 19t h of September and finished on the 25t h of the month…..” Paolo Bianchini owner of Azienda Agricola Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona (Brunello di Montalcino DOCG, Rosso di Montalcino DOC, Sant’Antimo Rosso DOC): “The harvest was a bit early and it went well. We hope it will be a great vintage. It was a warm year, but in August the temperature was lower, so that the vegetative cycle slowed down. In September it was warm…We started picking on the 3r d of September and finished on the 25t h of the month…”

S. GIMIGNANO (Province of Siena): Simone Santini owner of Tenuta Le Calcinaie (Vernaccia di S. Gimignano DOCG, S. Gimignano DOC, Chianti Colli Senesi DOC): “The harvest was 15 days early. The wines have good alcohol percentage and good acidity content. Grape yield was lower than the previous vintages. Ripening was perfect for all varietals. The whites have very good aromas and they are fresh and floral. The reds are incredible. We started picking white varietals on the 7-8 September, the last red varietals were picked on the 25-28 September…”

CARMIGNANO (Province of Prato): Beppe Rigoli of Fattoria Ambra (Carmignano DOCG, Barco Reale DOC, Vin Santo di Carmignano DOC, Rosato di Carmignano DOC):”The blooming phase of the vines was 20/ 30 days early. The vegetative cycle then became longer due to the cooler climate in August and in September. The rains in August and in September slowed down, but also favoured complete ripening of the grapes. The wines have good colour, good acidity and an excellent structure. We started picking Merlot on the 10t h of September, Sangiovese from the 20t h of September till the 3r d of October, Cabernet on the 4-5t h of October..”

MONTEPULCIANO (Province of Siena): Sabina Labrusco of Azienda Agricola Dei (Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG, Rosso di Montepulciano DOC):”The harvest went very well. We started harvest one month early and we had no rain while we picked. The forecast for 2007 wines is excellent: intense colours, good alcohol-acidity ratio….We started picking on the 1st of September and we finished around the 9t h of October..” Beppe Rigoli consulting agronomist and oenologist for Tenuta di della Seta (Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG, Rosso di Montepulciano DOC): “As in the rest of Tuscany the blooming phase of the vines was 20-30 days earlier than usual. The weather was normal throughout the year with evenly distributed rains, so that the vegetative cycle of the vines progressed without interruptions. Polyphenol ripening was 10-15 days early. We finished picking around the 24t h of September. The wines have good aromas and colour and have an excellent acidity content.”

EMPOLI (Province of Florence): Rolando Bettarini of Fattoria di Piazzano (Chianti DOCG, Vin Santo DOC): “The harvest was good and it was 15 days early. It was dry in July, but in August we had rain and this re-balanced the ripening phase of the vines. It is an extremely good vintage and the wines have excellent aromas as it was cool in August. We had to harvest each vineyard separately (vines of the same clone ripen at the same time). The grape yield was the same as previous vintages as the new vineyards are now producing. We started picking on the 6t h of September (instead of the 18-20 September) and we finished at the beginning of October (instead of mid October).”

ROCCASTRADA (Province of Grosseto) Francesco Falciani of Azienda Agricola I Campetti (Monteregio di Massa Marittima DOC):”…the harvest was good, grape yield was a bit lower. It is a marvellous vintage for Sangiovese and a good vintage for the other varietals. Quality of the wines is high. The whites are excellent. The winter and the summer were mild, the vines did not suffer from hydric stress. We started picking Viognier on the 18t h of August and we finished the harvest at the beginning of October. We picked the early varietals during the usual period of time, while we picked the late varietals early (in April it was very warm so that the vines flowered early).”

MAGLIANO (Province of Grosseto): Roberto da Valle oenologist of Fattoria di Magliano (Morellino di Scansano DOC): “In 2007 the climate was perfect, and it rained at the right time. Ripening of the grapes was extraordinary. The wines are fantastic. This could be a top vintage. The grape yield was a bit lower, but the quality is high. The results of the analyses carried out on the wines are very good. We started the harvest at the end of August (10-12 days early). We started with the white varietals followed by Merlot, Syrah, Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. We finished on the 25t h of September.”

FOSDINOVO (Province of Massa Carrara): Ivan Giuliani owner of Azienda Agricola Terenzuola (Colli di Luni Vermentino DOC): ”The harvest went very well, we had the courage to wait. The elegance of the wines is impressive. Both red and white wines are excellent. The whites have very good aromas. The alcohol-acidity ratio is excellent. We had good rains and a good temperature range during August and September: ideal for the vines. 2006 and 2007 are vintages ideal for the vignerons. We started picking on the 3r d of September.”