Di_Savino Frances - Chianti Classico: the search for Tuscanys noblest wine

Fresh from our odyssey in Sicily, recounted in The World of Sicilian Wine, we embarked in 2014 on a new adventureto tell the story of the ancient land named Chianti and the modern wine zone known as Chianti Classico. Located in the heart of Tuscany, Chianti in many respects is a world away from Sicily. Yet both have histories woven with conflict and complexity, despite the simplicity of their majestic landscapes. The similarities do not end there. In the nineteenth century, Italys two most famous and respected wines were Sicilys Marsala and Tuscanys Chianti. Like Marsala, Chianti became known worldwide in the twentieth century, propelled by the millions of Italian immigrants who brought their culture with them to the New World. The name Chianti was synonymous with the straw-covered flasks that graced virtually every Italian restaurant table until the 1970s. Bill vividly remembers his father (who had emigrated from Apulia) storing a large flask of Chianti under the kitchen sink. Every evening Dr. Nesto brought it to the familys dining table to pour a small glassful to savor with his dinner. Chianti was also the first region in Italy that Bill visited during his studies for the Master of Wine examination. He was made an honorary member of the Lega del Chianti (League of Chianti) in 1999. Frans introduction to Chianti was in the 1980s when she studied for a year at the University of Florence and lived with the Anichini, one of the oldest families of viticoltori (winegrowers) in Chianti, who have farmed Fattoria Le Corti (in the high hills of Greve between Ruffoli and Lamole) since 1424.

Our first adventure on the wine road together began in Castellina in Chianti in 2003. As we traveled Chiantis rural roads, we discovered a shared love of this landits countryside and its culture. From that year on, we returned every September in time for the vendemmia (harvest). Bill gave a winemaking course to a small group of American wine students, and Fran introduced the budding winemakers to the culture and history of Tuscany. Then we began our Sicilian journey in 2008. In telling the story of Sicily, we came to understand yet another truth it shares with Chianti. Like Sicily, Chianti as a name is universally known, though as a place it is essentially unknown and misunderstood. In telling the story of Chianti, we knew from the beginning that it was essential to explain its origin and evolution as both a place and a wine region. The expansion of the Chianti wine zone to encompass most of Tuscany in the early 1930s effectively blurred the distinction between the original Chianti region (from then on known as Chianti Classico) and the external Chianti region (with the exclusive right to use the name Chianti for its wine), consisting of multiple subzones. We have met many a Tuscan, Italian, and American who are unaware of the differences between Chianti Classico and external Chianti. Remarkably, Chianti was among the first legal appellations of origin for wine in the world. The publication of this book will coincide with the three hundredth anniversary of that historic (but long forgotten) milestone of 1716.