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Tuscany is one of Italy's oldest wine-growing regions. During
the first millennium BC the Etruscans settled here. They became
great agriculturalists, developed a highly advanced wine culture
and traded their produce with the Greeks. This in its turn led
to the introduction of Greek grape varieties into Italy. The
Romans built numerous new roads including the Via Aurelia and
Via Cassia, thereby facilitating the exchange of goods, including
wine, with distant markets. After the fall of the Roman Empire
Tuscany became populated with various races and little was heard
of its wine culture until medieval times, when wine-growing
experienced an enormous revival with Siena as its hub. The Medici
dynasty invested considerably in developing Tuscany's wine industry.
In the 19th century Baron Ricasoli laid down the methods for
producing Chianti, establishing as its main components the Sangiovese,
Canaiolo, Malvasia and Trebbiano grapes. Today Tuscany has become
one of the world's most prestigious red wine producing regions,
an area where quality of life and wine have evolved into philosophy.
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