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 Last week I was in Mumbai as part of the faculty for a new educational programme being launched around Italian wines. The participants seemed to be enamoured by two wines- Chianti and Prosecco. In one practical session the participants were assigned the role of selecting a sommelier who had to convince the others in the group playing the customers to order Chianti. The group did a good job except that the ‘sommelier’ kept referring to Chianti in the same breath as the wine with the black rooster. I had to interject and rather sternly clarify that there was a distinct difference between Chianti and the Chianti with Black Rooster though they were both from Tuscany- the latter being Chianti Classico.
Black Rooster or Gallo Nero as it is called in Tuscany is a symbol-of high quality Chianti wine that towers over the other Chiantis and is tagged as Chianti Classico. This is believed by most to be of superior quality, because of the soil, lower yields and stricter production standards.
In a chat with Giuseppe Liberatore, Director of the Chianti Classico Consortium (Producer Association) at the Chianti Classico Tasting at Station Leopolda in Florence last month, I quizzed him on the possibility of reducing the price of Chianti Classico or making them slightly cheaper to compete with generic Chianti. He said it was not feasible as the process defined by the appellation made it impractical to bring out a cheaper version. It was important to bring to the attention of more and more people  through awareness like this Tasting at Leopolda Station that it was a better quality wine.
At a Press Conference at this event where a panelist from Champagne also said Chianti Classico is a high quality wine, Bill Nesto MW who recently wrote and released a book with his wife Frances di Savino on Chianti Classico, said in a panel discussion on the second day of the Chianti Classico Collection Tasting that the confusion between Chianti Classico and Chianti was rampant in the US. In fact, the efforts made to differentiate between the two helped Chianti sell better because of price.
Historically, Chianti Classico has been the original Chianti wine region for three centuries since the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Cosimo de Medici III so decreed in 1716. However, the government expanded the territory in 1932 to include large areas of Tuscany, which were not part of the original Chianti Classico region, due to increasing global popularity of Chianti. In 1984 Chianti Classico was awarded a separate docg area. In 1996, a ministerial decree declared Chianti Classico a completely autonomous region with zone and production regulations distinct from Chianti wine.
It’s possible that some wineries in Chianti make good quality top end wines- better than the low-end Chianti Classico but the average quality is generally lower. Chianti Rufina for instance is generally considered decent wine at half the price; but in general Classico is better but more expensive. Prices of Chianti are generally around 30-40% lower than Chianti Classico, though some premium Chianti wines may be more expensive than basic Chianti Classico. Most quality Chianti Classico producers claim it is impossible to think of bringing down the cost of a fine Chianti Classico wine to under € 4.50 a bottle ex-cellar, whereas it is easy to find Chianti for less than half the price.
 Here are a few of the other differences besides the terroir that make Chianti Classico generally a superior wine to Chianti:
- Classico producers may use 80% -100% Sangiovese with 20% of other red grapes, whereas Chianti may deploy only 70% Sangiovese. White grapes like Malvasia and Tuscan Trebbiano (10%) are allowed. Classico producers are not allowed such use since 2006.
- Classico does not allow the use of the word ‘Superiore’ which is loosely defined in Chianti and is used more to create an impression of better quality.
- Chianti Classico has set tighter overall viticulture and winemaking standards than Chianti. Chianti is not allowed to be produced in the Chianti Classico region. Earlier, if the quality of wine was not up to the mark, the producer had the liberty to label it as Chianti and sell accordingly.
- For a wine to be labelled a Chianti Classico, the new vineyard may begin production at least four years after planting.
- The yields of Chianti Classico are tighter and limited to 7.5 tons/hA compared to Chianti which allows 9 tons/hA. Output per vine is also limited to 3 kilos, though most quality producers are increasing the density of vines with lower fruit weight per vine to minimise green harvest and achieve proper concentration.
- The solid extract in Chianti Classico must be a minimum of 23 gms/liter compared to as low as 19 gms from some parts of Chianti.
- To ensure a better balance in the wine, the release of a Chianti Classico is authorised only after October 1 of the year following the harvest. For the Riserva, minimum maturation of 24 months in wood, including at least three months in the bottle ageing is mandatory. Chianti can be ready for release in 3 months.
- Since March 2007 Chianti Classico is a protected territory like Champagne, Rioja, Napa Valley, Western Australia, Victoria, Porto and Jerez after joining the Joint Declaration to Protect Wine Place & Origin, a global movement aimed at ensuring that the wine place names are protected and are not abused. It is a part of 15 regions which jointly fight for the protection of the place names and has these regions as its members. Chianti is not included as a member.
Incidentally, Chianti Classico joined hands with Champagne; one of the GI’s recognised by the European Union last year. The Alliance is expected to boost the customer awareness and knowledge as better branded wine producing areas and products.
Black Rooster as the emblem for Chianti Classico
 The famous Black Rooster on the neck of each bottle has become the Chianti Classico emblem since 2005, irrespective of whether the producer is a member of the Chianti Classico Wine Consortium or not. This symbol was modernized in 2012 and made bolder, stronger and more assertive and sharper in appearance. In fact, one can now recognize from a distance if a wine is Chianti Classico or Chianti.
It is also interesting to keep in mind that the Chianti Classico territory identified with Gallo Nero (Black Rooster) applied last year for the official recognition for acceptance to the UNESCO world heritage sites committee, with the explicit support of the minister of agriculture and the then Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi.
With some of the explanations given to the students, I hope they would not interchangeably use Chianti and Chianti Classico in future. Most of our readers hopefully know the difference-if not this is the time to refresh themselves about Italian wines- more particularly Tuscany.
Remember Chianti is Tuscany but Tuscany is not only Chianti! (Tuscany is also San Gimignano, Montepulciano and Montalcino)
For the recent related Articles, visit:
Anteprime Toscane: Vintage 2016
Anteprime Toscane: The Tuscan Marathon 2017
Tuscany Taste: Celebrating 300 years of Chianti Classico Wines
Subhash Arora |