Who hasn’t seen that fat-bottomed bottle of Chianti? It’s the one with the basket around the bottom of the bottle. Or, if you’re old enough, perhaps you remember burning a candle in such a bottle in your younger days.
Italian wine has come a long way from the days of those Chianti jug wines, but if you’re nostalgic enough you can still find those. Chianti and Chianti Classico are readily available with a wide range of value and quality. The history of the grape is a lot of fun. It’s a history that dates back to the 13th century.
Let’s start with geography. Italy and France are the real “Old World” wine countries and designate their wines by region. Chianti is an area just south of Florence, Italy, in the heart of Tuscany. The Chianti Classico region is the very best growing region at the heart of Chianti.
The great Italian red grape is Sangiovese, the most widely planted grape in Italy. The grape is at the heart of Chianti as well as the big and expensive Brunellos and Super Tuscan wines. Many U.S. West Coast producers have started growing Sangiovese in recent years.
Italy, just like France, has a carefully governed wine industry. Wine regions are regulated and wines must contain certain percentages of certain grapes to carry the famous wine names.
Sangiovese is generally high in acidity and moderate in alcohol, which makes it a great food wine — especially with those red sauces associated with Italian food.
For years, Chianti was seen as not much more than jug wine or a step above that derisive label. But in the 1970s and 1980s, Chianti producers really took the grape seriously and started producing much better wines.
Sangiovese is a tricky grape, so producers have experimented with blends. To be called Chianti, the wine must be 80 percent Sangiovese. A number of varietals have been, and continue to be, used to balance the wine. The two most popular choices are Merlot and Italy’s native Canaiolo.
As a matter of fact, there has been controversy in the past few years about the amounts of Merlot added to the bigger Italian wines to soften their taste.
Never hesitate to ask questions at your wine shop. If the bottle doesn’t tell you the amount of grapes used in the blend, just ask. I like the traditional Canaiolo much better than Merlot. If you want a true representation of Chianti, I strongly recommend the Sangiovese-Canaiolo combination.
That combination gives you the rich and deep cherry flavor of classic Chianti. The Merlot blend tends to club the wine with overpowering blandness.
Howard’s Picks:
n 2008 Ruffino Chianti — This is a wine available in shops and many supermarkets. It’s a Sangiovese, Canaiolo, Colorino blend. It’s got the cherry flavor with a hint of spice. The basket is gone but it’s a nice choice for $9.
n Fiorini Chianti Classico — This is an amazing Chianti Classico for roughly $13. It’s full-flavored with cherry hints and very smooth tannins. This is great Sangiovese-based Chianti with 20 percent Canaiolo.
Features
GRAPE SENSE: History of Chianti wine grape a lot of fun
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