So I sent an email with inadequate Italian (I used Google translator), to an Agriturismo in the Maremma region of Tuscany. (I am planning a Tuscan road trip with my family: 6 days of driving around to see everything an adolescent boy would want to see: Etruscan caves, Napoleon's castle, a mining museum full of gemstones, hot sulfur hot springs, Leonardo da Vinci's house and San Galgano where there really IS a sword in the stone).

Anyway, we need places to stay along the way and since it is off-season, we can get better deals (there goes the Dutch in me). Who cares if it is freezing outside? The hot springs are warm! Since I don't know how smoothly ferrying off of Elba will go, I am planning for a late arrival at an Agriturismo near Saturnia (hot springs) and Soverno (Etruscan caves). They sent me back an email, explaining that we could reserve dinner---which would of course be served with their Morellino di Scansano.

Morellino di Scansano?

Little did I know. Maremma is the wine region in southern Tuscany. And here I have been focusing on Montalcino, Montepulciano and Chianti wines... Morellino here I come!

But seriously. There are hoards of sites and rich information about specific wines. And, well, I have a specific wine. So here is what I gathered (and some fantastic wine sites):

The cliff notes: think coastal---this Tuscan wine has the influences of the Sea. Morellino is Maremma's name for Sangiovese grapes. It boasts DOCG status (to earn that stamp, they must be 85% sangiovese).

• from the site www.intowine.com, an overview of Morellino di Scansano, Maremma wines, etc.
• the ItalianMade site is very well organized, includes wonderful wine-region maps and classic Italian food pairings (and recipes!).
• this is not the first time the Italian Wine Blog - Wine90 crossed my plate screen; worthy of a visit if you want to learn more about Italian wines.
• a history of the region, wine, DOCG and more... from Poggio al Toro---winemakers of this said wine.