Chianti Classico is a wine produced in one of Chianti's sub-areas. There are actually 8 sub-areas in Chianti: Classico, Colli Aretini, Colli Fiorentini, Colli Senesi, Colline Pisane, Montalbano, Montespertoli and Rùfina. You may recognize these wines very easily by the black rooster logo on the neck of the bottles.

History

The first definition of the wine-area known as Chianti was made in 1716 by the Grand Duke Cosimo III de' Medici. It was described as the area near the villages of Gaiole in Chianti, Castellina in Chianti and Radda in Chianti; the so-called Lega del Chianti and later Provincia del Chianti (Chianti province). In 1932 the Chianti area was completely re-drawn. The new Chianti was a much larger area divided into seven sub-areas: Classico, Colli Aretini , Colli Fiorentini, Colline Pisane, Colli Senesi, Montalbano and Rùfina. The old Chianti area was ultimately a small part of the larger Classico area, with the original area described in 1716 occupying 40% of the extension of the Classico sub-area and about 10% of all Chianti. Most of the villages in 1932 that were included in the new Chianti Classico area added in Chianti to their name (the latest was the village of Greve changing its name to Greve in Chianti in 1972).

In 1967 Chianti was transformed into a DOC and the Classico sub-area was confirmed. In 1984 Chianti was transformed into a DOCG and the Classico sub-area was again confirmed.. From 1996 the Classico sub-area was allocated a separate disciplinare (rules of production), similar to the rest of Chiantis but generally more strict in quality parameters.

The black rooster

A black rooster was the emblem of the Lega del Chianti during the XVII century. From 1967 until 2005 it was the emblem of an association of some of the producers of the Classico sub-area sharing advertising costs; therefore only some bottles of Chianti Classico had that symbol on the neck, regardless of quality. Since 2005 the black rooster was the emblem of the Chianti Classico producers association; from that year all Chianti Classico wines have had that symbol on the neck of the bottle indicating that the wine is produced in the Classico area and that it has been made whilst complying to the Chianti Classico rules.

Grapes

Until the middle of the 19th century, Chianti was based solely on Sangiovese grapes. During the second half of the 19th century Baron Bettino Ricasoli (who was an important Chianti producer and minister in Tuscany and then Prime Minister in the Kingdom of Italy) imposed his ideas: from that moment on Chianti should be produced with 70% Sangiovese, 15% Canaiolo and 15% Malvasia bianca (Malvasia bianca is an aromatical white grape). During the 1970s, producers started to reduce the quantity of white grapes in Chianti and eventually from 1995 it was permitted to produce a Chianti with 100% sangiovese, or at least without white grapes.