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Chianti Docg Link to product report The Chianti is one of the most famous and appreciated red Italian wines. Its origins are very old, but only in the Middle Ages did the word ‘Chianti' gain its oenological meaning and started to be used to identify the prized wine of these lands. However this wine was not yet the Chianti we know today. Today's Chianti owes its creation to the experiments followed by the Baron Bettino Ricasoli, a member of the Accademia dei Georgofili who, after trying and retrying to mix different varieties of grapes, finally produced the Chianti as we know it today: a blend of Sangiovese, Canaiolo, Trebbiano e Malvasia. How it is consumed The Chianti is perfectly served with main courses which are meat based and game, such as the porchetta allo spiedo, tripe, hare, the bistecca alla fiorentino, the Colonnata lard. It combines well with typical cheese such as the Caciotta and the Pecorino Toscano and vegetable-based dishes such as lentils soup and fagioli al fiasco. It is served in ballon calices at a temperature of 18 to 20°C. How it is conserved The regulations for a correct preservation of the Chianti state that the wine must be conserved horizontally on wooden shelves, in a dark space, and at a constant temperature of 10 to 15°C. It is important that the humidity is around 70-75% to avoid that the cork gets dry. How it is produced The wine making process foresees that the fermentation of the must be in contact with the marc which in this phase releases part of the substances it contains, such as the tannic and anthocyanin ones. The grapes are pressed and in many cases they are picked from a bunch, and then sulphated with sulphurous anhydride. At this point, in special recipient called ferments, the fermentation and maceration phases begin, which usually has a duration of 15 days. The drawing of wine from the vat follows, to eliminate solid substances from the wine-must, and occasionally the so-called “governo” procedure (a long re-fermentation of the decanted wine with slightly withered grapes). The following phases are decanting, refining and aging. The ‘Reserve' version has an obligatory refining period of 2 years (starting from the successive first of January of the vintage year), of which three months are at least spent in bottles. Product report
| Categories | The wine making process foresees that the fermentation of the must be in contact with the marc which in this phase releases part of the substances it contains, such as the tannic and anthocyanin ones. The grapes are pressed and in many cases they are picked from a bunch, and then sulphated with sulphurous anhydride. At this point, in special recipient called ferments, the fermentation and maceration phases begin, which usually has a duration of 15 days. The drawing of wine from the vat follows, to eliminate solid substances from the wine-must, and occasionally the so-called “governo” procedure (a long re-fermentation of the decanted wine with slightly withered grapes). The following phases are decanting, refining and aging. The ‘Reserve' version has an obligatory refining period of 2 years (starting from the successive first of January of the vintage year), of which three months are at least spent in bottles. |
| Description | The Chianti Docg is obtained from Sangiovese grapes at a minimum percentage of 75% to a maximum of 100%, and an eventual addition of Canaiolo nero (maximum 10%), Trebbiano Toscano and/or Malvasia del Chianti (maximum 10%) and other grapes from the area. |
| Characteristics | On eye examination the Chianti is a vivid ruby red colour tending to garnet red with aging; the smell is intense with a violet smell which becomes more pronounced and refined in the aging process. It is dry, harmonic, sapid, slightly tannic in taste, becoming soft and velvety with time, presenting other characteristics if the “governo” process has been applied. The minimum gradation of 11.5°C for the Chianti e for the Chianti Colli Aretini, Colli Senesi, Colline Pisane and Montalbano wines; it is of 12°C for the Chianti Colli Fiorentini, Montespertoli and Rùfina and for that with the specification Superiore |
| Production zone | The area of production includes the administrative area of 6 of the 10 provinces of the Tuscan region: Arezzo, Firenze, Pisa, Pistoia, Prato e Siena |
| Present on market | All year round |
| Normative references | The Docg Chianti has been recognized with DPR 02.07.1984. Successively the Decree 05.08.1996, issued on GU of 18.09.1996, has approved the production disciplinary also of the Docg Chianti Classico. Other four disciplinary measures (modified by the disciplinary of the Montespertoli area) followed, of which Decree l 15.03.99 |
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