"Tuscany."

Someone says the word and your minds flashes to Merchant-Ivory movies, manicured estates, precise ranks of pretty vines and lazy lunches in sun-drenched Renaissance piazzas. Oh, wine too, the bottlings of lordly owners with their -aia names and aura of legend.

There are other Tuscanies. One is the rugged Montecucco region. It lies just south of Montalcino and east of the Maremma. This Tuscany is much humbler and more sparsely populated than the guidebooky parts. It's also a lot colder, which makes the area look like New England or upstate New York, not Italy.

The hard facts of altitude and cold have pushed the producers to innovate. They often work with early-maturing grapes that you associate with France or the subalpine Alto Adige. The soil, a complex mix of volcanic and calcareous, also lends its character to the wines, which are fragrant, balanced and filled with clean fruit and zippy acidity.

They're ready for their closeup.

Producers from Tuscany
Piandibugnano, Schiaccionaia