The annual grape harvest in late September or early October is an exciting time in Tuscany. Everybody can participate as much as they want in the process of wine making. From the harvesting, crushing of the grapes to exploring fermentation of wine. The best known and the oldest harvest festival is La Festa dell'Uva - Chianti Grape Harvest Festival at Impruneta, held the last Sunday of September of every year. Impruneta, situated between the city of Florence and the Chianti region is also a major center for the production of terracotta and very popular tourist resort. Moreover, Tuscany boasts many of the world's finest and most beautiful wineries, many of which are open to the public such as Chianti Classico.
Chianti, the area in which Chianti Classico wine has been produced for centuries, is that part of Tuscany that is bordered to the north by the suburbs of Florence, to the east by the Chianti Mountains, to the south by the city of Siena and to the west by the valleys of the Pesa and Elsa rivers. The region is called Classico because it is the historic heart of the Chianti region. It is a land of ancient traditions that was civilized in remote periods first by the Etruscans, who left many traces of their activity in the wine sector, and then by the Romans. In the middle Ages, the cities of Florence and Siena battled for control over the zone. Villages and monasteries, castles and fortresses appeared during that period and many of them were later transformed into villas and country residences when times were more tranquil. It was then that spaces were cleared in the vast forests of chestnuts and oaks for the cultivation of vines and olive trees, an activity that progressively assumed major economic importance and established an international reputation.