I have decided it is Chanti week in my little world. I've already learned more about Chianti in the last few days than I have in the 12+ years I've been exploring the wine world - beyond the Bartles and James and Boone's Farm experiences (Tickle Pink and Strawberry Hill) of my crispy-banged, spiral-permed youth.
This evening's lecture focused solely on the Chianti region, and the distinguishing features of Chianti Classico (percentage of Sangiovese, alcohol, type of grapes, history, etc.)
And the chicken? Learned about that too. You see, boys and girls, once upon a time, in a land right outside my current apartment window (beyond the drunks, tourists, and Accordion Guy), the Sienese and Florentines were in disagreement over who should own the Chianti Classico region between the two towns. By the 1200s the fighting had gone on long enough, and the argument was settled with a cock fight.
OK, not really a cock fight (can you guess how hard I had to bite my tongue during this story in class today?), but close. Each town appointed a rider to set out and meet in between their respective towns. Wherever the riders met, that's where the boundary lines would be drawn. The riders would start moving out at the crow of the cock. Which cock you ask? Siena chose to use a white rooster, well-fed, and I would guess content; because when the sun rose, and it was time for Siena-rider to bust a move, the fat white rooster must have just rolled over, as he didn't crow nearly as early as the starving black rooster from Florence (with all this prosciutto and cheese around, not sure how the rooster was starving - but that's another story). ANYwho, the Florentine rider set off earlier at the crow of the starving cock (why the hell is that so funny? Could be I'm on my 5th wine today?) and covered more ground. The boundary is only approximately 15KM south of Florence. Hence, the black rooster, the Gallo Nero, was adopted as the legendary symbol of Chianti Classico.
NOTE 1: I did ask if Siena ever got froggy and put a white chicken on their labels, just for giggles or to prove a point. The answer is no. HOWEVER, Chianti colli. Sinese wines are some of the strongest produced of all seven Chianti areas, to imitate the Chianti Classico. Am guessing their chickens are still pretty-well fed to this day too. Will have to check it out for myself and post pictures of said chickens.
Enough about animals. Here's what I learned about the wine.
NOTE 2: Chianti is not a freaking grape, nor is it or another word for Sangiovese. It is a region in Tuscany. Next time you hear someone say, Chianti and Sangiovese are the same grape, you are well-justified in finding new friends if your old ones can't be reprogrammed. In the '90s, I thought the same thing. So there you go.
I often encounter people with no love for the Chianti. Myself included (food dependent, of course, like all wines). But I always believe there are exceptions, as there are so many wines out there, you can't possibly hate them all. I started learning other grapes in an effort to grasp how using Canaiolo, Colorino, Merlot, Cab Sauv, etc., in addition to vinification methods (wood aging) were used to soften what is often a typically harsh nature of the Sangiovese.
NOTE 3: Chianti must be made with a minimum of 75% Sangiovese and blended with other grapes (even white), and aged for 1 year. Chianti Classico must be 80% Sangiovese, per most current standards, can only be blended with other red grapes, and the riserva must be aged for two years.
In an effort to familiarize myself with (drink) the other grapes playing nice with Sangiovese in Chianti and Chianti Classico, I discovered that one can, indeed, produce a Chianti Classico that is so sublime, so delicate and smooth.
The wine of the day:
Querciabella DOCG Chianti Classico, 2006. Fermented AND aged in French Oak, no steel, filtered one time. For me, Sangiovese always smells of boysenberry - and in this wine, pipe smoke. The instructor told us 100% Sangiovese, but have seen this with 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Either way, I've never had a Chianti Classico like this. But I still have more studying to do...
This evening's lecture focused solely on the Chianti region, and the distinguishing features of Chianti Classico (percentage of Sangiovese, alcohol, type of grapes, history, etc.)
And the chicken? Learned about that too. You see, boys and girls, once upon a time, in a land right outside my current apartment window (beyond the drunks, tourists, and Accordion Guy), the Sienese and Florentines were in disagreement over who should own the Chianti Classico region between the two towns. By the 1200s the fighting had gone on long enough, and the argument was settled with a cock fight.
OK, not really a cock fight (can you guess how hard I had to bite my tongue during this story in class today?), but close. Each town appointed a rider to set out and meet in between their respective towns. Wherever the riders met, that's where the boundary lines would be drawn. The riders would start moving out at the crow of the cock. Which cock you ask? Siena chose to use a white rooster, well-fed, and I would guess content; because when the sun rose, and it was time for Siena-rider to bust a move, the fat white rooster must have just rolled over, as he didn't crow nearly as early as the starving black rooster from Florence (with all this prosciutto and cheese around, not sure how the rooster was starving - but that's another story). ANYwho, the Florentine rider set off earlier at the crow of the starving cock (why the hell is that so funny? Could be I'm on my 5th wine today?) and covered more ground. The boundary is only approximately 15KM south of Florence. Hence, the black rooster, the Gallo Nero, was adopted as the legendary symbol of Chianti Classico.
NOTE 1: I did ask if Siena ever got froggy and put a white chicken on their labels, just for giggles or to prove a point. The answer is no. HOWEVER, Chianti colli. Sinese wines are some of the strongest produced of all seven Chianti areas, to imitate the Chianti Classico. Am guessing their chickens are still pretty-well fed to this day too. Will have to check it out for myself and post pictures of said chickens.
Enough about animals. Here's what I learned about the wine.
NOTE 2: Chianti is not a freaking grape, nor is it or another word for Sangiovese. It is a region in Tuscany. Next time you hear someone say, Chianti and Sangiovese are the same grape, you are well-justified in finding new friends if your old ones can't be reprogrammed. In the '90s, I thought the same thing. So there you go.
I often encounter people with no love for the Chianti. Myself included (food dependent, of course, like all wines). But I always believe there are exceptions, as there are so many wines out there, you can't possibly hate them all. I started learning other grapes in an effort to grasp how using Canaiolo, Colorino, Merlot, Cab Sauv, etc., in addition to vinification methods (wood aging) were used to soften what is often a typically harsh nature of the Sangiovese.
NOTE 3: Chianti must be made with a minimum of 75% Sangiovese and blended with other grapes (even white), and aged for 1 year. Chianti Classico must be 80% Sangiovese, per most current standards, can only be blended with other red grapes, and the riserva must be aged for two years.
In an effort to familiarize myself with (drink) the other grapes playing nice with Sangiovese in Chianti and Chianti Classico, I discovered that one can, indeed, produce a Chianti Classico that is so sublime, so delicate and smooth.
The wine of the day:
Querciabella DOCG Chianti Classico, 2006. Fermented AND aged in French Oak, no steel, filtered one time. For me, Sangiovese always smells of boysenberry - and in this wine, pipe smoke. The instructor told us 100% Sangiovese, but have seen this with 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Either way, I've never had a Chianti Classico like this. But I still have more studying to do...
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