West of Umbria and bordering the Mediterranean lies Tuscany. This province is famous for its light colored table wines. Many of these wines are made of mixtures of different kinds of grapes. Two of these varieties are the same as used in the Bordeaux vineyards viz., the Malbec and Cabernet. The wines thus produced have some of the properties of their more famous cousins of the Gironde. The vines are planted principally on the hill sides rather than on the plains. The phylloxera pest which laid waste the vineyards of France did not spare those of Tuscany. From 1879 to 1888 many vineyards were attacked. Vigorous treatment with bisulphide of carbon and grafting on the roots of American vines which were immune to this pest prevented disastrous losses. The most abundant production of Tuscan wines is found near Florence.