CHIANTI D.O.C.

Tuscany is the home of Chianti.  The bleak, rocky, barren hillsides between Florence and Siena  are as unlikely a vineyard area as any.  The original Chianti League was formed in 1376 as a military buffer state to protect Florence from warring Siena.  The name was transferred to the local wine district Chianti Classico which claims sole right to the name Chianti as a distinct wine type.   The area’s clay-schist soil, layers of covering flint and limestone and the thin top of pebbly sand differs geologically from surrounding areas.   I

Surrounding areas have capitalized on the name Chianti and formed consorzio to protect their use of that name.  Some of these wines, such as Chianti Ruffina, are considered to be better balanced wines than the Classico variety, but some are also not in the same class.  Real Chianti Classico can be identified by  the official seal  of its consorzio portraying a black cockerel on a gold background with a surrounding red circle bearing the name of the organization (Consorzio per la Difesa del Vino Tipico di Chianti).

The wine is traditionally made from five types of grapes used in a set formula. Sangiovese (50%-80%) is said to impart body and alcoholic content;  Canaiolo (10%-30%) give bouquet and tempers the hardness;  and Trebbiano and Malvasia (10%-30% combined) - both white grapes - lighten the intensity of the colour;  finally, Colorino (about 5%) helps in giving true Chianti its usually bright ruby-red colour.  Some young Chianti may have a frizzante, semi-sparkling bite, caused by adding fermenting juice of late-maturing grapes to the wine after it is made.  This practice, called governo, increases the glycerin content of the wine, making it more round and supple.

Traditionally, Chianti was bottled in straw-covered round-bottomed fiasco bottles and was imbibed at a young age. These round bottles do not lend themselves to aging on their sides and good Chianti that is to be aged is now bottled in traditional straight-sided bottles.  True Chianti, even after aging is not a subtle wine, but retains a heady strength and slight bitterness which is so characteristic of the young wine.  It is most often made in small batches that are not exported but can only be found in restaurants and hotels in Italy.  The mass produced Chianti is often of poorer quality and that is what is most often found  in our LCBOs, etc.

by Susan Scholz