Cosimo III de’ Medici (1642-1723) was the penultimate Grand Duke of Tuscany and the least illustrious of the de’ Medici dynasty.
He has gone down in history as a pretty ineffectual ruler, but he was responsible for one piece of legislation which lends a positive note to an otherwise somewhat tarnished reputation.
Cosimo created a precursor of the Italian DOC system which was the first of its kind in Europe, preceding the French AOC – based on the same principles – by over 100 years.
Scroll down for wines from some of Europe’s first…
Source : https://www.decanter.com/premium/baudains-how-tuscany-created-europes-first-docs-552525/