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Chianti
Chianti is an Italian red wine produced in the Chianti region of central Tuscany, principally from the Sangiovese grape. It was historically associated with a squat bottle enclosed in a straw basket, called a fiasco ("flask"; pl.: fiaschi). However, the fiasco is now only used by a few makers of the wine; most Chianti is bottled in more standard-shaped wine bottles. In the late 19th century, Baron Bettino Ricasoli (later Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Italy) helped establish Sangiovese as the blend's dominant grape variety, creating the blueprint for today's Chianti wines.
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 redrawn and divided into seven sub-areas: Classico, Colli Aretini, Colli Fiorentini, Colline Pisane, Colli Senesi, Montalbano and Rùfina. Most of the villages that in 1932 were added to the newly defined Chianti Classico region added in Chianti to their names, for example Greve in Chianti, which amended its name in 1972. Wines labelled Chianti Classico come from the largest sub-area of Chianti, which includes the original Chianti heartland. Only Chianti from this sub-zone may display the black rooster (gallo nero) seal on the neck of the bottle, which indicates that the producer of the wine is a member of the Chianti Classico Consortium, the local association of producers. Other variants, with the exception of Rufina north-east of Florence and Montalbano south of Pistoia, originate in the named provinces: Siena for the Colli Senesi, Florence for the Colli Fiorentini, Arezzo for the Colli Aretini and Pisa 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. Aged Chianti (at least 6 months in barrel and 3 more in bottle before release, instead of 6 months aging without barreling necessary) 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.
The earliest documentation of a "Chianti wine" dates back to the 14th century, when viticulture was known to flourish in the "Chianti Mountains" around Florence. A military league called Lega del Chianti (League of Chianti) was formed around 1250 between the townships of Castellina, Gaiole and Radda, which would lead to the wine from this area taking on a similar name. In 1398 the earliest-known record notes Chianti as a white wine, though the red wines of Chianti were also discussed around the same time in similar documents.
The first attempt to classify Chianti wine in any way came in 1427, when Florence developed a tariff system for the wines of the surrounding countryside, including an area referred to as "Chianti and its entire province". 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, Gaiole in Chianti and Radda in Chianti) as well as the village of Greve and a 3.2-kilometre-long stretch (2-mile) of hillside north of Greve near Spedaluzzo as the only officially recognised 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, Chiocchio, Robbiano, San Casciano in Val di Pesa and Strada. Subsequent expansions in 1967 would eventually result in the Chianti zone covering a very large area all over central Tuscany.
By the 18th century Chianti was widely recognised 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 was a widely planted variety in the area along with Sangiovese, Mammolo and Marzemino. It was not until the work of the Italian statesman Bettino Ricasoli 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 Bianca Lunga playing supporting roles. In the mid-19th century, Ricasoli developed a recipe for Chianti that was based primarily on Sangiovese. Though he is often credited with creating and disseminating a specific formula (typically reported as 70% Sangiovese, 20% Canaiolo, 10% Malvasia Bianca Lunga), a review of his correspondence of the time does not corroborate this. In addition, his efforts were quickly corrupted by other local winemakers (for example, replacing Malvasia with Trebbiano Toscano, or relying too heavily on the latter), leading to further misunderstanding of the "Ricasoli formula". In 1967, the Denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) regulation set by the Italian government was based on a loose interpretation of Ricasoli's "recipe", calling for a Sangiovese-based blend with 10–30% Malvasia and Trebbiano.
The late 19th century saw a period of economic and political upheaval. First came oidium 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 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 and Sangiovese clones such as the Sangiovese di Romagna from the nearby Romagna region. Following the Second World War, 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.
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Chianti
Chianti is an Italian red wine produced in the Chianti region of central Tuscany, principally from the Sangiovese grape. It was historically associated with a squat bottle enclosed in a straw basket, called a fiasco ("flask"; pl.: fiaschi). However, the fiasco is now only used by a few makers of the wine; most Chianti is bottled in more standard-shaped wine bottles. In the late 19th century, Baron Bettino Ricasoli (later Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Italy) helped establish Sangiovese as the blend's dominant grape variety, creating the blueprint for today's Chianti wines.
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 redrawn and divided into seven sub-areas: Classico, Colli Aretini, Colli Fiorentini, Colline Pisane, Colli Senesi, Montalbano and Rùfina. Most of the villages that in 1932 were added to the newly defined Chianti Classico region added in Chianti to their names, for example Greve in Chianti, which amended its name in 1972. Wines labelled Chianti Classico come from the largest sub-area of Chianti, which includes the original Chianti heartland. Only Chianti from this sub-zone may display the black rooster (gallo nero) seal on the neck of the bottle, which indicates that the producer of the wine is a member of the Chianti Classico Consortium, the local association of producers. Other variants, with the exception of Rufina north-east of Florence and Montalbano south of Pistoia, originate in the named provinces: Siena for the Colli Senesi, Florence for the Colli Fiorentini, Arezzo for the Colli Aretini and Pisa 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. Aged Chianti (at least 6 months in barrel and 3 more in bottle before release, instead of 6 months aging without barreling necessary) 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.
The earliest documentation of a "Chianti wine" dates back to the 14th century, when viticulture was known to flourish in the "Chianti Mountains" around Florence. A military league called Lega del Chianti (League of Chianti) was formed around 1250 between the townships of Castellina, Gaiole and Radda, which would lead to the wine from this area taking on a similar name. In 1398 the earliest-known record notes Chianti as a white wine, though the red wines of Chianti were also discussed around the same time in similar documents.
The first attempt to classify Chianti wine in any way came in 1427, when Florence developed a tariff system for the wines of the surrounding countryside, including an area referred to as "Chianti and its entire province". 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, Gaiole in Chianti and Radda in Chianti) as well as the village of Greve and a 3.2-kilometre-long stretch (2-mile) of hillside north of Greve near Spedaluzzo as the only officially recognised 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, Chiocchio, Robbiano, San Casciano in Val di Pesa and Strada. Subsequent expansions in 1967 would eventually result in the Chianti zone covering a very large area all over central Tuscany.
By the 18th century Chianti was widely recognised 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 was a widely planted variety in the area along with Sangiovese, Mammolo and Marzemino. It was not until the work of the Italian statesman Bettino Ricasoli 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 Bianca Lunga playing supporting roles. In the mid-19th century, Ricasoli developed a recipe for Chianti that was based primarily on Sangiovese. Though he is often credited with creating and disseminating a specific formula (typically reported as 70% Sangiovese, 20% Canaiolo, 10% Malvasia Bianca Lunga), a review of his correspondence of the time does not corroborate this. In addition, his efforts were quickly corrupted by other local winemakers (for example, replacing Malvasia with Trebbiano Toscano, or relying too heavily on the latter), leading to further misunderstanding of the "Ricasoli formula". In 1967, the Denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) regulation set by the Italian government was based on a loose interpretation of Ricasoli's "recipe", calling for a Sangiovese-based blend with 10–30% Malvasia and Trebbiano.
The late 19th century saw a period of economic and political upheaval. First came oidium 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 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 and Sangiovese clones such as the Sangiovese di Romagna from the nearby Romagna region. Following the Second World War, 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.