Chianti
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").
It is produced in Tuscany, in strictly delimited areas among the provinces of Florence, Siena, Arezzo and Grosseto. It is based mainly on Sangiovese grapes but also includes other varieties. Chianti is a DOC, but corresponds to a much larger area than the region originally known as Chianti. Wine from this smaller region is labeled Chianti Classico and is a DOCG. It typically has a picture of a black rooster (known in Italian as a gallo nero) on the neck of the bottle. Chianti Classico that meets slightly more stringent requirements, primarily with respect to aging, may be labelled Chianti Classico Riserva.
Chianti is not the only traditional wine made in Tuscany, and there are also new wines, usually based on sangiovese and some popular french grape that are usually dubbed "Super Tuscans".
The word "Chianti" is used rather more loosely in the United States, to the chagrin of European wine-makers.
Chianti Classico region
- Greve in Chianti
- Montefioralle
- Convertoie
- Montegonzi
- Canonica
- Castello di Uzzano
- Castello di Verrazano
- Radda in Chianti
- Volpaia
- Castellina in Chianti
- San Casciano Val di Pesa
- Mercatale Val di Pesa
- Faltignano
- Campoli
- Gaiole in Chianti
- Castello di Brolio
Trivia
The wine had a famous mention in a popular film Silence of the Lambs in the catchphrase "I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti."