Language

  • English

Date

16 Nov 2020

Wine reflects both the place where it is produced and the expertise of the winemakers who produce it. This dialogue between nature and humankind is what we call the ‘terroir effect’.

Discover what gives this terroir its identity through five testimonials from winemakers from the Chianti region:

Chianti Classico, Italy: protecting an identity

The Chianti Classico appellation is a land of ancient traditions: the historic Chianti Classico zone, part of the larger Chianti appellation (the most famous in Italy), became the second wine production area on the planet to be demarcated in 1716. It proudly trumpets its uniqueness with its symbol of the ‘gallo nero’, or black cockerel. Chianti Classico has been produced since the 19th century as a blend of red and white grape varieties. In the 1970s, various large estates invented a new style of wine made entirely from red grape varieties including foreign grapes and maturation in oak, which the appellation’s rules did not allow. The extraordinary success of these wines, known as ‘super Tuscans’, resulted in changes to the appellation’s historic production criteria. It is also the land of ‘bel bel paesaggio’, a legendary landscape of vines, olive trees and cypress trees.

Terroir - Chianti