At the former Leopolda Station of Florence 960 labels of the IX Selection of Tuscan Wines

Starting from Buy Wine the adventure of the 960 labels that have passes the exam of the IX Selection of Tuscan Wines can now commence. This oenological contest taking place every two years is based on the method of the Union International des Oenologues and it is organised by the official body Toscana Promozione together with the Enoteca Italiana of Siena, the Associazione Enologi Enotecnici Italiani and the Italian Trade Commission. The international workshop that will take place until tomorrow in the former building of the Leopolda Station of Florence officially opens the doors of the world tour of this new group of labels and producers becoming the testimonials of Italian oenology for the following two years throughout the global arena. The 960 wines passing the 5 sessions of sensory analysis that from November 19^th to 21^st took place in the Hotel Garden of Siena with 77 international Jurors (oenologists, sommeliers and journalists) will be then employed  by Toscana Promozione in initiatives made to develop new contacts with operators of specialised chains, buyers, importers and representatives of the so-called HoReCa (Hotel, Restaurant, Café) sector. This strategy is aimed to support Italian oenology throughout the International markets. After a fist event in Florence - with the presence of more than 50 international buyers – the IX Selection of Tuscan Wines will then approach New York for the Italian Wine Week and then London for another workshop (specially organised for the Tuscan contest wines).

70% of the wines (960 out of 1364) passed the selection, 260 labels (37,5% of the selected wines) were also awarded with a special mention for having reached or exceeded the score of 85 points. According to these results the ninth edition of the Selection of Tuscan Wines states again the excellent quality of the regional wine sector. This high quality has been recently reflected by the famous guide of the Italian magazine "L’Espresso” “I vini d’Italia 2011” (41 Tuscan wines being awarded, 6 of which with thee stars on a total amount of 14 at national level), 23 Tuscan wines have been awarded with the ‘three glasses” (the highest score) of Gambero Rosso and 36 could get the Slow Wine 2011 snail. We should also mention the Wine Spectator 2011 “Top 100” where 15 Tuscan wines (two of which among the first ten, at position n. 8 and 10) are present among 19 Italian wines.

Indeed one of the most interesting data coming from the 2010 edition of the Selection is perhaps the geographical score: in fact not only the historical Tuscan wine provinces (Florence and Siena) have been awarded but also the ones that joined the wine sector only in the last few years. These younger provinces participate to every edition of the contest with a more and more increasing number of companies and wines. The Selection of Tuscan Wines is today the first regionally based Italian contest. At the first place we have in fact the Vinitaly contest, which is indeed on international basis. Indeed the Selection is not only an important event for great but also for small producers that often disclose here real, rare and often not adequately supported jewels of Tuscan winemaking. There is indeed an increasing interest in the contest by many producers that are usually not present in the great gala performances. This data is stated by the increasing number of participants from the first edition of the Selection on: from 120 participants in 1989 to the actual 467 in 2010.

Last but not least we want to mention two data that are not linked to the official Selection of Tuscan Wines categories but that make hope for a positive future of the Tuscan wine sector according to its quality and competitiveness: 16% of the selected labels are in the non official category “Young People's wines" that was conceived by the organisers in order to award the passion and attention of oenologists and producers under 40 years of age. More than 22% of the wines are "Women's wines", reflecting the last years trend of a growing women presence in the world of wine. A real revolution that brought a wave of grace and creativity into a sector that has been for long time considered a man’s domain.