Vernaccia di San Gimignano has been made in these hills since at least the 13th century — Dante mentioned it, as did Michelangelo — and in 1966 it became the first Italian wine to receive DOC status, followed by the DOCG upgrade in 1993. It's a white wine made from the Vernaccia grape, a variety found almost nowhere else, and at its best it's a dry, pale gold wine with a bitter almond finish and a mineral backbone that comes from the galestro and tufo soils of the hillside vineyards.
The enoteche within the walls sell bottles from most of the local estates; a few producers — Panizzi, San Quirico, and Montenidoli among others — have tasting rooms just outside the town gates that are worth a detour if you have a car. Even if you're not much interested in wine, tasting a glass of the local Vernaccia with a plate of local salumi is one of the simple pleasures of being here.