Red wine has been synonymous with fancy dinners, romance and Italy since it’s birth. It is said that one glass a day helps to prevent heart disease. And there’s nothing better than pairing it with a nice steak, a fancy charcuterie, or a decadent chocolate dessert. UB40 wrote a song about it. Hollywood producers have made countless movies about it. We love red wine. And more specifically, we love Chianti and all it’s velvety goodness. We thought we’d take a minute here to tell you a little more about the famous wine.
Chianti is an Italian red wine produced exclusively in Tuscany. Most people recognize its iconic image of a squat bottle enclosed in a straw basket. The first declaration of its growing region in Tuscany was made in 1716. The area is near the towns of Castellina, Radda and Gaiole. In 1932, the area was redrawn and divided into seven sub-areas: Classico, Colli Aretini, Colli Fiorentini, Colline Pisane, Colli Senesi, Montalbano and Rufina. Throughout the years, producers continued to perfect the making of Chianti wine. In the 1970s they began to reduce the number of white grapes in the wine. Now for a wine to be called a Chianti, it must be produced with at least 80% Sangiovese grapes.
Each Chianti has a slightly different taste depending on what part of the region it is from. But overall, Chianti wines tend to be medium-bodied with light floral and berry notes. You may notice that a bottle has an image of a black rooster on it. This is the symbol of the Consorzio Chianti Classico, a foundation of producers in the Chianti Classico region. The foundation was formed to promote the wines of the region, improve wine quality and help to prevent wine fraud.
Many of our Italian vacation packages at Sceptre Tours take you to Tuscany where you can attend exclusive Chianti wine tastings and learn about the incredible growing region. We are crazy about Chianti. Are you?
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