CHIANTI -- THE HEART OF TUSCAN WINE

Italy is the center of ancient Europe and Tuscany was a highly developed and

sophisticated region in Italy before Roman expansion and it still has been. If Italian cuisine is

the foundation of European cuisine, Tuscan cuisine and their wines are a pivot of Italian culture. 

Italy is a country where good food and wine are the most essential part of their everyday life. Italian loves and consumes wine the most in the world ever since ancient time, and Chianti wines stand as one of the top premium Italian wines in the centuries. 

Chianti, is the most famous Italian wines made from primally Sangiovese grapes blended with small amount of other local grape varietals (Canaiolo, Trebbiano and Malvasia grapes) in the heart of Tuscany among the best of wheat for bread and olives for oil, Mediterreranian Trinity for joy and healthy life.

SANGIOVESE “The Grape” for Chianti, Chianti Classico….Sangiovese has a long history in Tuscany, where it is the most commonly planted red wine grape and still used primarily as the predominant grape in Chianti, Chianti Classico (DOCG) wines, a large well known wine producing area in the central Tuscany. Its reputation is improving as lower-yield practices, created for a wider range of styles, including recent trend that blended with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot to soften the acidity and increase body, the wine called Super Tuscan.  The black grapes are thin-skinned and takes longer to mature, which contribute to wines with more acidity and tannin. This gives the potential for aging, but most Sangiovese varietals are designed to be drunk fairly young.

Flavors/aromas: Italian versions exhibit spice, herbal, dark cherry (Marasca), red plum, wild red berries and violet notes. From California, expect brighter fruit, including strawberry, raspberry, black currant and red plum; with longer barrel aging, can be okay with hints of cedar, mocha, tabaco.

Character/structure: Medium to full-bodied, a high-acidity with moderate to high tannins, apparent earthiness-mineral note and subtle dark fruit. Color is typically ruby with a beautiful orange tint.

Food Pairing:

This is essentially a food-friendly wine. Try it with anything in tomato sauce (pizza, pasta, etc.) and

with Parmesan or Pecorino cheese. Chicken Cacciatore, Beef Steak, Pork and

cannellini beans stew, Pasta Bolognese, Lazagna. Crisp California versions can be great summer picnic wines to go with grilled sausages, poultry and veggies. Oak-aged Sangiovese works well with grilled, roasted and smoked meats and chicken, and hearty soups, especially with fennel and rosemary.

Note. Chianti Classico is a well structured quality wines produced area between Florence and Siena region. The wines which are usually identifiable by a small black rooster (gallo nero) on the neck bottle label. 

Other subzones are; Colli Aretini, Colli Fiorentini, Colli Senesi, Colline Pisane, Montalbano, and Rufina.

The word RISERVA on the label indicates that the wine is of superior quality and has been aged for at least 3 years before being released.

Chianti Putto: previously widely available squat, straw-covered bottles called FIASCHI are produced in the subzone outside of Chianti Classico. They look rustic and authentic, however the wines that usually designate a cheaper, a table wine, and often less quality wine of today’s standard. Most Chianti wines are used in the high neck, Bordeaux-type bottle today.

Chianti’s five small area of premium a single wine production; Carmigiano, Brunello di Montalcino, Vernaccia di San Gimignano and Noble de Montepulciano.

Famous and pricy premium Tuscan wines such as Brunello di Montalcino and Noble de Montepulciano are produced also from a clone of the Sangiovese grape.