Puccini's Tuscany: A Wine Lover's Guide

Perhaps the greatest of the operatic composer’s many love affairs was the one he had with his home region of Tuscany – and its wine and cuisine. Follow in his footsteps for a charming long-weekend getaway among vines and history, says Adrian Mourby

- Adrian Mourby

The Italian composer Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) was proud that he came not just from Tuscany, but from Lucca – and that all the houses he owned were entirely on Lucchese territory. This northwest corner of Tuscany, with its dramatic mountains, Art Deco beach resorts and ancient walled cities, is an affluent wine-producing area. Puccini himself would have drunk early vintages of many of the wines still bottled here today.

The most romantic opera composer of his generation, Puccini was a great lover of food and wine, with a clubhouse that he built in the reeds of the idyllic Lake Massaciuccoli. Here, in sight of the Apuan Alps, he used to cook meals for his friends and serve them the basic wines of Lucca.

To follow in Puccini’s footsteps – and gain an insight into why he loved his home region so much – base yourself in Lucca, the imposing, walled city of his birth and childhood. It has a Roman street plan, churches full of art, several boutique hotels and many charming restaurants.

The province of Lucca has long produced wine, even prior to Roman times. Records show that in AD1334, it sold nearly 17,000 barrels of rosso to its great rival, the city of Florence. The imposition of Napoleon’s sister, Elisa, as princess of Lucca in 1805 brought French influence to local viticulture, with Chardonnay, Sauvignon and Semillon, the Pinots Blanc and Gris, and dependable Merlot joining the indigenous Grechetto, Malvasia, Trebbiano, Vermentino and Colorino grapes.