Meet the other Tuscans

THE first day of autumn is less than two weeks away; soon suppers will get heartier, and wines will follow suit. Cooler temperatures make the evening safe again for a lighter red. Tuscan rossos fit this moment aptly, toothsome wines that bear a friendly, red-fruited liveliness, but possess enough grip and sinew to marry with more substantial autumn meals. The most famous of these is Chianti, but there are also stellar wines -- call them Chianti's cousins -- produced in Montalcino, Montepulciano and Carmignano, three Tuscan regions that sometimes live in Chianti's shadow.

Tuscany is the largest viticultural area in Italy, extending from the Mediterranean coast (and beyond -- the island of Elba is a Tuscan zone) to the edge of the country's mountainous backbone, the Apennine range. Rainfall captured by the Apennines has tumbled seaward for millions of years, resulting in a landscape that is famously hilly, with Renaissance villages and ancient pathways bordered by vineyards and silver-leaved olive groves. Tuscany is not Italy's most prolific viticultural area, but it is arguably the country's most bewildering. In fact, David Lynch and Joe Bastianich, in their terrific book "Vino Italiano," conclude that Tuscany "takes the prize for Most Confusing Region," with nearly 40 separate viticultural areas (called DOCs and DOCGs in Italy).

Chianti today is in most respects a region producing wine that bears no resemblance to the wine we all grew up with: spineless, overcropped plonk. Those days are long gone: In a country where quality winemaking is taking huge strides with every vintage, the Chianti DOCG, from its Classico center to its seven far-flung sub-regions, leads the pack.

Chianti's cousins have raised the bar in quality as well, ever since the rise of Super Tuscans and the apotheosis of Brunello as the great regional DOCG in Tuscany, causing prices to shoot into the stratosphere. Nevertheless, it's still possible to find wines that are interesting departures from Chianti at Chianti-style prices.

The grape that links these regions and their wines is Sangiovese, which is grown throughout Tuscany and is used in nearly every red wine, from $6 fiascos (flasks) to Sassicaia and the noblest Brunellos.

Sangiovese is thought to be as ancient as its name implies (its name, "blood of Jove," suggests Roman ancestry). Many clones have been isolated, but all of them are thought to have evolved from two distinct strains, Sangiovese Grosso and Sangiovese Piccolo.