Santa Cristina

Santa Cristina is a wine producer located in the Tuscan commune of Cortona. It is owned by Marchesi Antinori, one of Italy's most renowned and historic wine companies. Santa Cristina's first vintage was in 1946 and today the range includes wines under the Chianti Superiore DOCG, the Toscana IGT, the Umbria IGT and the Orvieto Classico DOC.

The classic Santa Cristina red wine, based largely on Sangiovese and Merlot, was first created as a Chianti Classico in 1946. The introduction of the DOCG laws in 1984, which prohibited the use of Merlot, forced the company to reconsider the blend, eventually releasing the wine under the more forgiving Toscana IGT title in 1994.

The wine is composed of 90 percent Sangiovese and 10 percent Merlot. Both are fermented separately and, after destemming and pressing, the must is macerated on its skins for approximately seven days. The wine is then racked and undergoes malolactic fermentation. After the completion of malolactic fermentation the wine is aged partly in traditional Slavonian oak casks and partly in stainless steel tanks for four months prior to bottling.

Santa Cristina's vineyards are planted on soils of sandstone, shale and marl, with varying compositions of clay and silt, as well as coarse and fine sand. All the grapes are processed at the estate's Cortona winery, built in 2006.