Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/566135
108 / the tasting panel / september 2015 veryone has a vision of Tuscany in their mind's eye— whether it's of undulating wheat-colored fields marked by iconic cypress trees, terracotta hill towns or, if you're a wine lover, those ruby reds made from Sangiovese. Few people, however, see it as a wild frontier defined by rocky coastlines and wild beaches, scrub lands dotted with bush vines and inhabited by butteri, Italy's version of cowboys. But one family with a fine Tuscan heritage took another view and in 1996 planted roots—figuratively and literally—in a little-known region on Tuscany's western edge called Morellino di Scansano in Maremma. Winegrowers since 1893, the Cecchi family already had a long history of daring: Founder Luigi Cecchi brought the tradition of "palatista"—professional wine tasting—to Tuscany. Although widespread elsewhere in Europe, it was still unknown at home. But Luigi understood once the quality of wines was known, Italy would takes its place on the world wine map. His wife, Anita, was equally intrepid. She was among the first women in Tuscany to ride a motorino scooter as her primary mode of transportation. With ambitions to become an architect at a time when it was considered a man's profession, Anita turned to the family business: making barrels for wine production. She held the company together through wartime and earned the respect of many elder statesmen. And also that of Luigi Cecchi, whom she married in 1955—29 days after he proposed to her. She still lives on the estate and her sons, Cesare and Andrea, run the business, representing the fourth generation. Tusca Reinventing From Its Home in Chianti Classico, the Cecchi Family Broadens Its Scope by Lana Bortolot