Once upon a time there was the Chianti...

We must start from the Middle Ages to find the origins of the Chianti territory when the two cities of Siena and Florence fought among themselves to grab this territory which only later would become one of the best known territories in the world. The first notarial document in which the name Chianti appears referring to a wine dates back to the 1398.
It was precisely in that period that castles, fortresses and abbeys were born and it was since then that the culture of the vine and olive tree began to develop.
After many battles, peace arrived followed by the agrarian rebirth with a connection to this land that became increasingly stronger.
The Grand Duke of Tuscany Cosimo III in 1716 decided to establish the borders and to write them in a document. This geographical extension has changed over the centuries, becoming much larger.
From this moment on, the Chianti wine acquired more and more prestige, so much so that two centuries later, in 1924, 33 producers decided to join together to create the first consortium to defend their wine and chose the "black rooster" as their trademark, already symbol of the ancient League Military of Chianti which included the towns of Radda, Gaiole and Castellina.

In 1932 this wine was named "classic", and the Chianti territory was extended to other Tuscan territories.
As a consequence, the Chianti wine made in the "oldest area of ​origin" was called "classic" while that extended to other neighboring territories was called only "Chianti". Thus, becoming two different wine denominations.
In 1984 the Chianti Classico obtained the DOCG (controlled and guaranteed designation of origin) to recognize its high level of quality.
Today's territory of Chianti Classico includes in its lands the municipalities of Gaiole, Castellina, Radda and Greve and, in whole and in part, those of Barberino Val d'Elsa, Castelnuovo Berardenga, Poggibonsi, San Casciano Val di Pesa and Tavarnelle Val di Pesa. A total of 70,000 hectares, the same as defined in 1932, with an altitude between 200 and 700 meters.
There are rules and parameters that must be respected to make the Chianti Classico wine but that is another story.

How to make the Chianti Classico

To make the Chianti Classico it is necessary to respect precise procedure guidelines:

• One of the main rules requires the presence of the Sangiovese grape at a percentage ranging from a minimum of 80 up to 100%. It is possible to add 20% of other native or international red grapes. Before 2006 it was also possible to add white grapes, such as Trebbiano and Malvasia, up to a maximum of 6%, but after that date they are no longer allowed,
• The vineyards must enter into production after the third year with a production of 60%, from the fourth year they can reach a maximum yield of 7.500 kg per hectare
• Three types: Chianti Classico annata, riserva and gran selezione
• Minimum alcohol content of 12% for the Chianti Classico annata and 12.5% ​​for the riserva
• Chianti Classico Annata is released on the market on 1 October of the year following the harvest
• Chianti Classico Riserva must have at least 2 years of aging of which at least three months of refinement in the bottle before being put on the market
• Chianti Classico Gran Selezione must have at least 30 months of aging of which at least 3 months of refinement in the bottle, calculated from January 1st of the year following the harvest. Furthermore, the alcohol content must be at least 13%
• the black rooster trademark must be applied on every bottle by all producers