Chianti

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About Chianti
Wikipedia Article About Chianti on Wikipedia

Chianti is Italy's most famous red wine. It used to be easily identified by its squat bottle enclosed in a straw basket, called fiasco ("flask").

The popularity and high exportability of this wine at the moment of introduction of the DOC, has made in 1963 that many regions of central Tuscany didn't want to be excluded from the use of the name. As a result the large (for Italian standards) production area was split in seven sub-regions: Chianti Classico, Rufina, Colli Senesi, Colli Fiorentini, Montalbano, Colli Arretini, Colline Pisane. Only wines labeled Chianti Classico come from the heart of the area that is traditionally attribuited to this wine. The other variants - with the exception of Rufina from the north side of Florence and Montalbano - are originated in the respective named provinces: Siena, Firenze (Florence), Arezzo and Pisa.

It is based mainly on Sangiovese grapes but also includes other varieties, and traditionally 5-10% of white grapes. Only recently it is allowed to produce a Chianti with 100% sangiovese, or at least without the white grapes. It may have a picture of a black rooster (known in Italian as a gallo nero) on the neck of the bottle, which indicates that the producer of the wine is associated with de Chianti Consortium. Chianti and Chianti Classico that meets more stringent requirements, primarily with respect to aging (38 instead of 4-7 months), may be labelled Riserva.