Costa Toscana IGT is effectively a coastal sub-division of the Toscana IGT appellation. It was introduced in 2010 to allow producers in Tuscany's coastal areas to differentiate their wines from those made further inland. The climatic differences between Tuscany's coastal areas and inland areas are noticeable, and are reflected in the local wine styles.
The need for this new appellation was increased significantly by the scheduled promotion of Maremma Toscana from IGT to DOC status in 2011 (see Italian Wine Labels). Maremma Toscana covered the region's southern coastal areas; a number of wines previously sold as Maremma Toscana IGT have now been relabeled as Costa Toscana IGT. Producers in the northern coastal areas have also benefited from the introduction of the Costa Toscana title; previously, the only IGT title they had at their disposal was the catch-all, regional Toscana IGT. Some producers in Lucca province have even voluntarily 'downgraded' their wines from DOC to IGT (Colli Lucchesi DOC to Costa Toscana IGT), presumably to cash in on the IGT category's more liberal production conditions.
A Costa Toscana IGT wine can be made from any of Tuscany's vitigni idonei (officially approved grape varieties). It can be red, white or rosé sparkling. Most are made in a dry style, but they may also be sweet; either dried-grape passito and late-harvest vendemmia tardiva. One might expect Tuscany's number one variety, Sangiovese, to be salient in Costa Toscana wines, but in fact it is the French varieties which hold sway, particularly Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah and Sauvignon Blanc.
The official Costa Toscana viticultural area covers land in each of Tuscany's the five coastal provinces: Massa Carrara, Lucca, Pisa, Livorno and Grosseto. It specifically excludes inland provinces such as Arezzo, Siena and Firenze – the homelands of Chianti.
