rainfall between 690 and 820 mm). The growing season is
characterized by a hot summer (annual average temperature
between 12.7 and 13.7°C).
Vintage ratings were used to define wine-quality ranking
(Table 1), which is based on the collection of estimates
from 1 to 5 classes (from insufficient to excellent)
(Riou 1994). The rating of a given vintage was conducted
in a single blind tasting of the individual varietals by a
panel of experts. Although this rating does not consider
variations in quality among the individual vineyards, it is
the most comprehensive overall rating compiled for highquality
Italian wines (Corsi and Ashenfelter 2001).
All were deemed superior quality wines by the panel
and potentially suited to aging. The quality data rankings