Chianti

Chianti is a red Italian wine

Italian wine

Italian wine is wine produced in Italy, a country which is home to some of the oldest wine-producing regions in the world. Italy is the world's largest wine producer, responsible for approximately one-fifth of world wine production in 2005. Italian wine is exported largely around the world and has...

produced in Tuscany. It was historically associated with a squat bottle

Bottle

A bottle is a rigid container with a neck that is narrower than the body and a "mouth". By contrast, a jar has a relatively large mouth or opening. Bottles are often made of glass, clay, plastic, aluminum or other impervious materials, and typically used to store liquids such as water, milk, soft...

enclosed in a straw basket, called a fiasco
Fiasco (bottle)
A fiasco is a typical Italian style of bottle, usually with a round body and bottom, partially or completely covered with a close-fitting straw basket....

("flask"; pl. fiaschi); however, the fiasco is only used by a few makers of the wine now; most Chianti is now bottled in more standard shaped wine bottles. Baron

Baron

Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...

Bettino Ricasoli

Bettino Ricàsoli, 1.º Barone Ricàsoli, 1.º Conte di Brolio was an Italian statesman.-Biography:...

(later Prime Minister

Prime minister

A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...

in the Kingdom of Italy

Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)

The Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was its legal predecessor state...

) created the Chianti recipe of 70% Sangiovese

Sangiovese

Sangiovese is a red Italian wine grape variety whose name derives from the Latin sanguis Jovis, "the blood of Jove"...

, 15% Canaiolo

Canaiolo

Canaiolo is a red Italian wine grape grown through Central Italy but is most noted in Tuscany. Other regions with plantings of Canaiolo include Lazio, Marche and Sardegna. In Umbria a white berried mutation known as Canaiolo Bianco exist...

and 15% Malvasia bianca in the middle of the nineteenth century.

The first definition of a wine-area called Chianti was made in 1716. It described the area near the villages of Gaiole, Castellina and Radda; the so-called Lega del Chianti and later Provincia del Chianti (Chianti province). In 1932 the Chianti area was completely re-drawn and divided in seven sub-areas: Classico, Colli Aretini, Colli Fiorentini, Colline Pisane, Colli Senesi, Montalbano and Rùfina. Most of the villages that in 1932 were suddenly included in the new Chianti Classico area added in Chianti to their name-such as Greve in Chianti

Greve in Chianti

Greve in Chianti is a town and comune in the province of Florence, Tuscany, Italy. It is located c...

which amended its name in 1972. Wines labeled Chianti Classico come from the biggest sub-area of Chianti, that sub-area that includes the old Chianti area. The other variants, with the exception of Rufina from the north-east side of Florence

Florence

Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

and Montalbano in the south of Pistoia

Pistoia

Pistoia is a city and comune in the Tuscany region of Italy, the capital of a province of the same name, located about 30 km west and north of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno.-History:...

, originate in the respective named provinces: Siena

Province of Siena

The Province of Siena is a province in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Siena.It has an area of 3,821 km² , and a total population of 252,288 . There are 36 comuni in the province...

for the Colli Senesi, Florence

Province of Florence

The Province of Florence is a province in the Tuscany region of Italy. It has an area of 3,514 sq. km and a population of 933,860 in 44 comuni....

for the Colli Fiorentini, Arezzo

Province of Arezzo

The Province of Arezzo or Arretium is the easternmost province in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Arezzo.It has an area of 3,232 km², and a total population of 323,288 in 39 comuni . At June 30, 2005, the main comuni by population are:- External links :...

for the Colli Aretini and Pisa

Province of Pisa

The Province of Pisa is a province in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Pisa.It has an area of 2,448 km², and a total population of 394,101 . There are 39 comuni in the province ....

for the Colline Pisane. In 1996 part of the Colli Fiorentini sub-area was renamed Montespertoli.

During the 1970s producers started to reduce the quantity of white grapes in Chianti. In 1995 it became legal to produce a Chianti with 100% Sangiovese. For a wine to retain the name of Chianti, it must be produced with at least 80% Sangiovese grapes. A Chianti may have a picture of a black rooster (known in Italian as a gallo nero) on the neck of the bottle, which indicates that the producer of the wine is a member of the Gallo Nero Consortium, an association of producers of the Classico sub-area sharing marketing costs. Since 2005 the black rooster has been the emblem of the Chianti Classico producers association. Aged Chianti (38 months instead of 4-7), may be labelled as Riserva. Chianti that meets more stringent requirements (lower yield, higher alcohol content and dry extract) may be labelled as Chianti Superiore, although Chianti from the "Classico" sub-area is not allowed in any event to be labelled as "Superiore".

History

The earliest documentation of a "Chianti wine" dates back to the thirteenth century when viticulture was known to flourish in the "Chianti Mountains" around Florence. The merchants in the nearby townships of Castellina, Gaiole and Radda formed the Lega del Chianti (League of Chianti) to produce and promote the local wine. In 1398, records note that the earliest incarnation of Chianti was as a white wine. In 1716 Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany

Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany

Cosimo III de' Medici was the penultimate Medici Grand Duke of Tuscany. He reigned from 1670 to 1723, and was the elder son of Grand Duke Ferdinando II. Cosimo's 53-year long reign, the longest in Tuscan history, was marked by a series of ultra-reactionary laws which regulated prostitution and...

issued an edict legislating that the three villages of the Lega del Chianti as well as the village of Greve and a 2 mile (3 km) hillside north of Greve near Spedaluzza as the only officially recognized producers of Chianti. This delineation existed until the 1930s when the Italian government expanded the zone. Subsequent expansions throughout the twentieth century would eventually bring the Chianti zone to cover almost all of Tuscany. The original zone dictated by the edict of Cosimo III de' Medici would eventually be considered the heart of the Chianti Classico region.

By the eighteenth century, Chianti was widely recognized as a red wine, but the exact composition and grape varieties used to make Chianti at this point is unknown. Ampelographers find clues about which grape varieties were popular at the time in the writings of Italian writer Cosimo Villifranchi who noted that Canaiolo

Canaiolo

was widely planted variety in the area along with Sangiovese, Mammolo

Mammolo

Mammolo is a red Italian wine grape that is planted primarily in Tuscany. While its use has been diminishing, Mammolo was historically included in the blended Sangiovese-based wines of Chianti where it contributed a distinctive violet or mammole aroma...

and Marzemino

Marzemino

Marzemino is a red Italian wine grape that is primarily grown around Isera, south of Trentino. The wine is most noted for its mention in the opera Don Giovanni of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart . The vine ripens late and is susceptible to many grape diseases including oidium...

. It was not until the work of the Italian statesman Bettino Ricasoli

Bettino Ricasoli

Bettino Ricàsoli, 1.º Barone Ricàsoli, 1.º Conte di Brolio was an Italian statesman.-Biography:...

that the modern "Chianti recipe" as a Sangiovese-based wine would take shape. Prior to Ricasoli, Canaiolo was emerging as the dominant variety in the Chianti blend with Sangiovese and Malvasia

Malvasia

Malvasia is a group of wine grape varieties grown historically in the Mediterranean region, Balearic islands, Canary Islands and the island of Madeira, but now grown in many of the winemaking regions of the world...

playing supporting roles. In the mid-nineteenth century, Ricasoli developed a recipe for Chianti that was based primarily on Sangiovese. His recipe called for 70% Sangiovese, 15% Canaiolo, 10% Malvasia (later amended to include Trebbiano

Trebbiano

Trebbiano is the second most widely planted grape in the world. It gives good yields, but makes undistinguished wine at best. It can be fresh and fruity, but does not keep long. Its high acidity makes it important in Cognac production...

) and 5% other local red varieties. In 1967, the Denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) regulation set by the Italian government firmly established the "Ricasoli formula" of a Sangiovese-based blend with 10-30% Malvasia and Trebbiano.

The late nineteenth century saw a period of economic and political upheaval. First came oidium

Oidium

This article is about a type of fungal spore. For the ascomycete genus, see Oidium . For the fungus that causes powdery mildew on grapes, see Uncinula necator....

and then the phylloxera epidemic would take its toll on the vineyards of Chianti just as they had ravaged vineyards across the rest of Europe. The chaos and poverty following the Risorgimento heralded the beginning of the Italian diaspora

Italian diaspora

The term Italian diaspora refers to the large-scale migration of Italians away from Italy in the period roughly beginning with the unification of Italy in 1861 and ending with the Italian economic miracle in the 1960s...

that would take Italian vineyard workers and winemakers abroad as immigrants to new lands. Those that stayed behind and replanted choose high-yielding varieties like Trebbiano

Trebbiano

and Sangiovese clones such as the Sangiovese di Romagna from the nearby Romagna

Romagna

Romagna is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna. Traditionally, it is limited by the Apennines to the south-west, the Adriatic to the east, and the rivers Reno and Sillaro to the north and west...

region. Following World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, the general trend in the world wine market for cheap, easy-drinking wine saw a brief boom for the region. With over-cropping and an emphasis on quantity over quality, the reputation of Chianti among consumers eventually plummeted. By the 1950s, Trebbiano (which is known for its neutral flavours) made up to 30% of many mass-market Chiantis. By the late twentieth century, Chianti was often associated with basic Chianti sold in a squat bottle enclosed in a straw basket, called a fiasco. However, during the same period, a group of ambitious producers began working outside the boundaries of DOC regulations to make what they believed would be a higher quality style of Chianti. These wines eventually became known as the "Super Tuscans".

Many of the producers behind the Super Tuscan movement were originally Chianti producers who were rebelling against what they felt were antiquated DOC regulations. Some of these producers wanted to make Chiantis that were 100% varietal

Varietal

"Varietal" describes wines made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label. Examples of grape varieties commonly used in varietal wines are Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Merlot...

Sangiovese. Others wanted the flexibility to experiment with blending French grape varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley...

and Merlot

Merlot

Merlot is a darkly blue-coloured wine grape, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to derive from the Old French word for young blackbird, merlot, a diminutive of merle, the blackbird , probably from the color of the grape. Merlot-based wines...

or to not be required to blend in any white grape varieties. The late twentieth century saw a flurry of creativity and innovation in the Chianti zones as producers experimented with new grape varieties and introduced modern wine-making techniques such as the use of new oak barrels. The prices and wine ratings of some Super Tuscans would regularly eclipse those of DOC sanctioned Chiantis. The success of the Super Tuscans encouraged government officials to reconsider the DOC regulations in order to bring some of these wines back into the fold labelled as Chianti.

Wine regions

The Chianti region covers a vast area of Tuscany and includes within its boundaries several overlapping Denominazione di origine controllata
Denominazione di Origine Controllata
Denominazione di origine controllata is a quality assurance label for food products, especially wines and various formaggi . It is modelled after the French AOC...

(DOC) and Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) regions. Other well known Sangiovese-based Tuscan wines such as Brunello di Montalcino

Brunello di Montalcino

Brunello di Montalcino is a red Italian wine produced in the vineyards surrounding the town of Montalcino located about 120 km south of Florence in the Tuscany wine region. Brunello, roughly translated as "small dark one" in the local dialect, is the unofficial name of the clone of Sangiovese...

and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano

Vino Nobile di Montepulciano

Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is a red wine with Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita status produced in the vineyards surrounding the town of Montepulciano, Italy. The wine is made primarily from the Sangiovese grape varietal , blended with Canaiolo Nero and small amounts of other...

could be bottled and labeled under the most basic designation of "Chianti" if their producers chose to do so. Within the collective Chianti region more than 8 million cases of wines classified as DOC level or above are produced each year. Today, most Chianti falls under two major designations of Chianti DOCG, which includes basic level Chianti, as well as that from seven designated sub-zones, and Chianti Classico DOCG. Together, these two Chianti zones produce the largest volume of DOC/G wines in Italy.

Chianti Classico

In 1716 Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany issued an edict legislating that the three villages of the Lega del Chianti (Castellina in Chianti

Castellina in Chianti

Castellina in Chianti is a comune of c. 2,800 inhabitants in the province of Siena, in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 35 km south of Florence and about 15 km northwest of Siena...

, Gaiole in Chianti

Gaiole in Chianti

Gaiole in Chianti is a comune in the Province of Siena in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 40 km southeast of Florence and about 15 km northeast of Siena. The American magazine Forbes named it number one in its list of "Europe's Most Idyllic Places To Live."Each year, generally...

, and Radda in Chianti

Radda in Chianti

Radda in Chianti is a comune in the Province of Siena in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 35 km southeast of Florence and about 15 km north of Siena....

) as well as the village of Greve and a 2-mile (3-km) stretch of hillside north of Greve near Spedaluzza as the only officially recognized producers of Chianti. This delineation existed until July 1932, when the Italian government expanded the Chianti zone to include the outlying areas of Barberino Val d'Elsa

Barberino Val d'Elsa

Barberino Val d'Elsa is a comune in the Province of Florence in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 30 km south of Florence.The township of Barberino Val d'Elsa is located above the valley from which it takes its name...

, Chiocchio, Robbiano, San Casciano in Val di Pesa

San Casciano in Val di Pesa

San Casciano in Val di Pesa is a comune in the Province of Florence in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 15 km southwest of Florence....

and Strada. The 1932 expansion was canonized into DOC regulations in 1966. Since the mid 1980s, the Chianti Classico zone has had its own DOCG recognized area separate from the greater Chianti region. As of 2006, there were 17640 acres (7,138.7 ha) of vineyards in the Chianti Classico region.

The Chianti Classico region covers an area of approximate 100 square miles (259 square kilometers) between the city of Florence

Florence

to the north and Siena

Siena

Siena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It is one of the nation's most visited tourist attractions, with over 163,000 international arrivals in 2008...

to the south. The four communes of Castellina in Chianti, Gaiole in Chianti, Greve in Chianti and Radda in Chianti are located entirely within the boundaries of the Classico region with parts of Barberino Val d'Elsa, San Casciano in Val di Pesa and Tavarnelle Val di Pesa

Tavarnelle Val di Pesa

Tavarnelle Val di Pesa is a comune in the Province of Florence in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 25 km south of Florence.-Main sights:...

in the province of Florence

Province of Florence

The Province of Florence is a province in the Tuscany region of Italy. It has an area of 3,514 sq. km and a population of 933,860 in 44 comuni....

as well as Castelnuovo Berardenga

Castelnuovo Berardenga

Castelnuovo Berardenga is a comune in the Province of Siena in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 50 km southeast of Florence and about 14 km east of Siena...

and Poggibonsi

Poggibonsi

Poggibonsi is a town in the province of Siena, Tuscany, Italy. It is the main centre of the Valdelsa Valley.-History:The area around Poggibonsi was already settled in the Neolithic age, although the first traces of civilisation dates from Etruscan-Roman age, attested by a series of necropolises and...

in the province of Siena

Province of Siena

included within the permitted boundaries of Chianti Classico. The soil and geography of this region can be quite varied, with altitudes ranging from 820 feet (250 meters) to 2000 feet (610 meters), and rolling hills producing differing macroclimate

Macroclimate

In viticulture, there are several levels of regional climates that are used to describe the terroir or immutable characteristics of an area. These levels can be as broad as a macroclimate which includes entire wine regions or as small as a microclimate which includes the unique environment around...

s. There are two main soil types in the region: a weathered sandstone known as albarese and a bluish-gray chalk

Chalk

Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....

y marlstone known as galestro. The soil in the north is richer and more fertile with more galestro, with the soil gradually becoming harder and stonier with more albarese in the south. In the north, the Arno river can have an influence on the climate, keeping the temperatures slightly cooler, an influence that diminishes further south in the warmer Classico territory towards Castelnuovo Berardenga.

Regional differences

Chianti Classico wines tend to be medium-bodied with firm tannins and medium-high to high acidity. Floral, cherry and light nutty notes are characteristic aromas with the wines expressing more notes on the mid-palate

Palate

The palate is the roof of the mouth in humans and other mammals. It separates the oral cavity from the nasal cavity. A similar structure is found in crocodilians, but, in most other tetrapods, the oral and nasal cavities are not truly separate. The palate is divided into two parts, the anterior...

and finish than at the front of the mouth. As with Bordeaux, the different regions of Chianti Classico have unique characteristics that can be exemplified and perceived in some wines from those areas. According to Master of Wine

Master of Wine

Master of Wine is a qualification issued by The Institute of Masters of Wine in the United Kingdom...

Mary Ewing-Mulligan

Mary Ewing-Mulligan is an American author, wine educator and Master of Wine, the first American woman to achieve this accreditation. She has been the director of the school International Wine Center since 1984, and is executive director of the U.S. programs for the Wine & Spirit Education Trust...

, Chianti Classico wines from the Castellina region tend to have a very delicate aroma and flavor, Castelnuovo Berardegna region wines tend to be the most ripe and richest tasting, wines from Gaiole tend to have been characterized by their structure and firm tannins while wines from the Greve area tend to have very concentrated flavours.

The Chianti DOCG covers all the Chianti wine and includes a large stretch of land encompassing the western reaches of the province of Pisa

Province of Pisa

near the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea

Tyrrhenian Sea

The Tyrrhenian Sea is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy.-Geography:The sea is bounded by Corsica and Sardinia , Tuscany, Lazio, Campania, Basilicata and Calabria and Sicily ....

, the Florentine hills in the province of Florence to the north, to the province of Arezzo

Province of Arezzo

in the east and the Siena hills to the south. Within this regions are vineyards that overlap the DOCG regions of Brunello di Montalcino, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and Vernaccia di San Gimignano

Vernaccia di San Gimignano

Vernaccia is a white Italian wine, made from the Vernaccia grape, produced in and around the Italian hill town of San Gimignano in Tuscany. Since the Renaissance it has been considered one of Italy's finest white wines...

. Any Sangiovese-based wine made according to the Chianti guidelines from these vineyards can be labelled and marked under the basic Chianti DOCG should the producer wish to use the designation.

Within the Chianti DOCG there are eight defined sub-zones that are permitted to affix their name to the wine label

Wine label

Wine labels are important sources of information for consumers since they tell the type and origin of the wine. The label is often the only resource a buyer has for evaluating the wine before purchasing it...

. Wines that are labeled as simply Chianti are made either from a blend from these sub-zones or include grapes from peripheral areas not within the boundaries of a sub-zone. The sub-zones are (clockwise from the north): the Colli Fiorentini which is located south of the city of Florence; Chianti Rufina in the northeastern part of the zone located around the commune of Rufina

Rufina

Rufina is a comune in the Province of Florence in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 20 km east of Florence.Rufina borders the following municipalities: Dicomano, Londa, Montemignaio, Pelago, Pontassieve, Pratovecchio....

; Classico in the centre of Chianti, across the provinces of Florence and Siena; Colli Aretini in the Arezzo province to the east; Colli Senesi south of Chianti Classico in the Siena hills, which is the largest of the sub-zones and includes the Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano areas; Colline Pisane, the westernmost sub-zone in the province of Pisa; Montespertoli located within the Colli Fiorentini around the commune of Montespertoli

Montespertoli

Montespertoli is a comune in the Province of Florence in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 20 km southwest of Florence....

; Montalbano in the north-west part of the zone which includes the Carmignano

Carmignano (wine)

Carmignano is an Italian wine region located in the Tuscany region and centered around the city of Carmignano, about 10 miles northwest of Florence...

DOCG. As of 2006, there were 786 acres (318.1 ha) under production in Montalbano, 2,236 (905 hectares) in the Colli Fiorentini, 140 (57 hectares) in Montespertoli, 1,840 (745 hectares) in Rufina, 8,780 (3,553 hectares) in the Colli Senesi, 380 (154 hectares) in Colline Pisane, 1,603 (649 hectares) in the Colli Aretini, and an additional 25,511 (10,324 hectares) in the peripheral areas that do not fall within one of the sub-zone classifications. Wines produced from these vineyards are labelled simply "Chianti".

Sub-zone differences

Outside of Chianto Classico, the wines of the Chianti sub-zone of Rufina are among the most widely recognized and exported from the Chianti region. Located in the Arno

Arno

The Arno is a river in the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the most important river of central Italy after the Tiber.- Source and route :The river originates on Mount Falterona in the Casentino area of the Apennines, and initially takes a southward curve...

valley near the town of Pontassieve

Pontassieve

Pontassieve is a comune in the Province of Florence in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 14 km east of Florence, nearby Fiesole, at the confluence of the Arno and Sieve rivers.-History:...

, the Rufina region includes much area in the Pomino

Pomino

Pomino is a village belongs to the municipality of Rufina, in the province of Florence, region Tuscany. The village of Pomino is 7,36 kilometers far from the same town of Rufina to whom it belongs. The locality of Pomino rises 585 meters abobe sea level and the population counts 228 inhabitants.The...

region, an area that has a long history of wine production. The area is noted for the cool climate of its elevated vineyards located up to 2,950 feet (900 meters). The vineyard soils of the region are predominately marl

Marl

Marl or marlstone is a calcium carbonate or lime-rich mud or mudstone which contains variable amounts of clays and aragonite. Marl was originally an old term loosely applied to a variety of materials, most of which occur as loose, earthy deposits consisting chiefly of an intimate mixture of clay...

and chalk

Chalk

. The Florentine merchant families of the Antinori and Frescobaldi

Frescobaldi

The Frescobaldi are a prominent Florentine noble family that have been involved in the political, sociological, and economic history of Tuscany since the Middle Ages;. Originating in the Val di Pesa in the Chianti, they appear holding important posts in Florence in the twelfth century...

own the majority of the vineyards in Rufina. Chianti from the Rufina area is characterized by its multi-layered complexity and elegance.

The Colli Fiorentini has seen an influx of activity and new vineyard development in recent years as wealthy Florentine business people move to the country to plant vineyards and open wineries. Many foreign "flying winemakers" have had a hand in this development, bringing global viticulture

Viticulture

Viticulture is the science, production and study of grapes which deals with the series of events that occur in the vineyard. When the grapes are used for winemaking, it is also known as viniculture...

and winemaking

Winemaking

Winemaking, or vinification, is the production of wine, starting with selection of the grapes or other produce and ending with bottling the finished wine. Although most wine is made from grapes, it may also be made from other fruit or non-toxic plant material...

techniques to the Colli Fiorentini. Located in the hills between the Chianti Classico area and Arno valley, the wines of the Colli Fiorentini vary widely depending on producer, but tend to have a simple structure with strong character and fruit notes. The Montespertoli sub-zone was part of the Colli Fiorentini sub-zone until 2002 when it became its own tiny enclave.

The Montalbano region is located in the shadow of the Carmignano DOCG, with much of the best Sangiovese going to that wine. A similar situation exists in the Colli Senesi which includes the well known DOCG region of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. Both regions rarely appear on wine labels that are exported out of Tuscany. The Colli Pisane area produces typical Chiantis with the lightest body and color. The Colli Aretini is a relatively new and emerging area that has seen an influx of investment and new winemaking in recent years.

Chianti blend and requirements

Since 1996 the blend for Chianti and Chianti Classico has been 75-100% Sangiovese, up to 10% Canaiolo and up to 20% of any other approved red grape variety such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot or Syrah. Since 2006, the use of white grape varieties such as Malvasia and Trebbiano have been prohibited in Chianti Classico. Chianti Classico must have a minimum alcohol level of at least 12% with a minimum of 7 months aging in oak, while Chianti Classico's labeled riserva must be aged at least 27 months at the winery, with a minimum alcohol level of at least 12.5%. The harvest

Harvest (wine)

The harvesting of wine grapes is one of the most crucial steps in the process of winemaking. The time of harvest is determined primarily by the ripeness of the grape as measured by sugar, acid and tannin levels with winemakers basing their decision to pick based on the style of wine they wish to...

yields for Chianti Classico are restricted to no more than 3 tonnes per acre (7.5 tonnes/hectare). For basic Chianti, the minimum alcohol level is 11.5% with yields restricted to 4 tonnes per acre (9 tonnes/hectare).

The aging for basic Chianti DOCG is much less stringent with most varieties allowed to be released to the market on 1 March following the vintage

Vintage

Vintage, in wine-making, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product . A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certain wines, it can denote quality, as in Port wine, where Port houses make and...

year. The sub-zones of Colli Fiorentini, Montespertoli and Rufina must be aged for a further three months and not released until 1 June. All Chianti Classicos must be held back until 1 October in the year following the vintage.

Comparative table of Chianti laws of production
	normal	Classico	Colli Aretini	Colli Fiorentini	Colli Senesi	Colline Pisane	Montalbano	Montespertoli	Rùfina	Superiore
Max. grape prod. (t/ha Hectare The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2... )	9.0	7.5	8.0	8.0	8.0	8.0	8.0	8.0	8.0	7.5
Max. grape prod. (kg/vine)	4.0	3.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	2.2
Min. vines/ha	3,300	3,350	3,300	3,300	3,300	3,300	3,300	3,300	3,300	4,000
Min. age of vineyards (years)	3	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4
Min. wine dry extract (g Gram The gram is a metric system unit of mass.... /l Litér - External links :*... )	19	23	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	22
Min. alcohol cont. (%)	11.5	12.0	11.5	12.0	11.5	11.5	11.5	12.0	12.0	12.0
Min. aging (months)	3	10	3	9	3	3	3	6	9	9

Wines

Jancis Robinson

Jancis Mary Robinson OBE, MW is a British wine critic, journalist and editor of wine literature. She currently writes a weekly column for the Financial Times, and writes for her website jancisrobinson.com...

notes that Chianti is sometimes called the "Bordeaux of Italy". The flexibility in the blending recipe for Chianti accounts for some of the variability in styles among Chiantis. Lighter bodied styles will generally have a higher proportion of white grape varieties blended in, while Chiantis that have only red grape varieties will be fuller and richer. While only 15% of Cabernet Sauvignon is permitted in the blend, the nature of the grape variety can have a dominant personality in the Chianti blend and be a strong influence in the wine.

Chianti Classico wines are characterized in their youth by their predominantly floral and cinnamon

Cinnamon

Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods...

spicy bouquet. As the wine ages, aromas of tobacco

Tobacco

Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...

and leather

Leather

Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...

can emerge. Chiantis tend to have medium-high acidity and medium tannins. The acidity in the wines make them very flexible with food and wine pairings, particularly with Italian cuisine

Italian cuisine

Italian cuisine has developed through centuries of social and political changes, with roots as far back as the 4th century BCE. Italian cuisine in itself takes heavy influences, including Etruscan, ancient Greek, ancient Roman, Byzantine, Jewish and Arab cuisines...

s that feature red sauce

Tomato sauce

A tomato sauce is any of a very large number of sauces made primarily from tomatoes, usually to be served as part of a dish...

, as well with as beef

Beef

Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...

, lamb and wild game. Basic level Chianti is often characterized by its juicy fruit notes of cherry

Cherry

The cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus Prunus, and is a fleshy stone fruit. The cherry fruits of commerce are usually obtained from a limited number of species, including especially cultivars of the wild cherry, Prunus avium....

, plum

Plum

A plum or gage is a stone fruit tree in the genus Prunus, subgenus Prunus. The subgenus is distinguished from other subgenera in the shoots having a terminal bud and solitary side buds , the flowers in groups of one to five together on short stems, and the fruit having a groove running down one...

and raspberry

Raspberry

The raspberry or hindberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus Rubus, most of which are in the subgenus Idaeobatus; the name also applies to these plants themselves...

and can range from simple quaffing

Quaffing

Quaffing is a wine term to describe a category of wine that is 'simple and everyday'; that is cheap enough to be consumed in large quantities, usually available also in bigger containers. A "quaffing wine"....

wines to those approaching the level of Chianti Classico. Wine expert Tom Stevenson

Tom Stevenson

Tom Stevenson is a British author who has been writing about wine for more than 30 years. Described by his colleagues as one of today’s most prolific wine authors, Stevenson is regarded as the world’s leading authority on Champagne...

notes that these basic everyday-drinking Chiantis are at their peak drinking qualities often between three and five years after vintage with premium examples having the potential to age for four to eight years. Well-made examples of Chianti Classico often have the potential to age and improve in the bottle for six to twenty years.

Chianti Superiore

Chianti Superiore is an Italian DOCG wine produced in the provinces of Arezzo, Florence, Pisa, Pistoia, Prato and Siena, in Tuscany. Superiore is a specification for wines produced with a stricter rule of production than other Chianti wines. Chianti Superiore has been authorized since 1996. Chianti Superiore wines can be produced only from grapes cultivated in the Chianti wine areas except from those vineyards that are registered in the Chianti Classico sub-zone. Vineyards registered in Chianti sub-zones[2] other than Classico can produce Chianti Superiore wines but must omit the sub-zone name on the label. Ageing is calculated from 1 January after the picking. Chianti Superiore cannot be sold to the consumer before nine months of ageing, of which three must be in the bottle. Therefore it cannot be bottled before the June after picking or sold to consumers before the next September.

Chianti Superiore wines must be produced with the following grapes:

Sangiovese: min. 75%
Canaiolo Nero: max. 10%
Trebbiano Toscano and Malvasia del Chianti: max. 10%
Other authorized red grapes: max. 20%

As of 2007 white grapes were eliminated

2004 production
	Chianti Superiore	Other Chianti	% Ch. Superiore
Registered vineyards (ha Hectare The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2... )	297.98	25,333.67	1.18 %
Grape production (t Tonne The tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI... )	1,808.51	184,023.10	0.98 %
Wine production (l Litér - External links :*... )	1,166,169	106,124,871	1.09 %

Gallo Nero

The black rooster (gallo nero in Italian) that appears on the neck labels of many Chianti Classico is the symbol of the Consorzio Chianti Classico, the foundation of producers in the Chianti Classico region. The foundation was founded with the aim of promoting the wines of the region, improving quality and preventing wine fraud

Wine fraud

Wine fraud is a form of fraud in which wines are sold to a customer illicitly, usually having the customer spend more money than the product is worth, or causing sickness due to harmful chemicals being mixed into the wine...

. Since the 1980s, the foundation has sponsored extensive research into the viticultural and winemaking practice of the Chianti Classic area, particularly in the area of clonal research. In the last quarter of a century more than 50% of the vineyards in the Chianti Classic region have been replanted with improved Sangioves clones and to modern vineyard schematics as part of the Consorzio Chianti Classico's project "Chianti 2000".

External links

Chianti travel guide from Wikitravel
Wikitravel
-External links:* *...
Chianti Classico Wine Producers Association
Chianti Superiore Wine Producers Association

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.