A Lesson in Chianti and Dinner With a View - Tuscany - Day 8

We didn't really do anything on Tuesday, as it rained all day, so I promise beautiful photos of Tuscany's rolling hills and vineyards are coming! In the meantime, here's an idea of where we're currently located within Tuscany and some information and history on the Chianti region.

The borders of the Chianti region are not clearly defined but in general it extends over the provinces of Florence and Siena, covering all of the area between the two cities. The Chianti wine area extends further beyond the two cities, all around Florence and even toward Arezzo, Pistoia and Montepulciano. You'll often find references to the "Florentine Chianti" and the "Sienese Chianti" to define the areas closest to one or the other city.

Chianti is a red Italian wine produced in Tuscany. It was historically associated with a squat bottle enclosed in a straw basket, called a fiasco ("flask") however, the fiasco is only used by a few makers of the wine now; most Chianti is now bottled in more standard shaped wine bottles. Baron Bettino Ricasoli (later Prime Minister in the Kingdom of Italy) created the Chianti recipe of 70% Sangiovese, 15% Canaiolo and 15% Malvasia bianca in the middle of the nineteenth century. The first definition of a wine-area called Chianti was made in 1716.

Following World War II, the general trend in the world wine market for cheap, easy-drinking wine saw a brief boom for the region. With over-cropping and an emphasis on quantity over quality, the reputation of Chianti among consumers eventually plummeted. During the 1970s producers started to reduce the quantity of white grapes in Chianti. In 1995 it became legal to produce a Chianti with 100% Sangiovese. For a wine to retain the name of Chianti, it must be produced with at least 80% Sangiovese grapes. A Chianti may have a picture of a black rooster (known in Italian as a gallo nero) on the neck of the bottle, which indicates that the producer of the wine is a member of the Gallo Nero Consortium, an association of producers of the Classico sub-area sharing marketing costs. Since 2005 the black rooster has been the emblem of the Chianti Classico producers association. Aged Chianti (38 months instead of 4-7), may be labelled as Riserva.

By the late twentieth century, Chianti was often associated with basic Chianti sold in a squat bottle enclosed in a straw basket, called a fiasco. However, during the same period, a group of ambitious producers began working outside the boundaries of regulations to make what they believed would be a higher quality style of Chianti. These wines eventually became known as the "Super Tuscans".

Many of the producers behind the Super Tuscan movement were originally Chianti producers who were rebelling against what they felt were antiquated regulations. Some of these producers wanted to make Chiantis that were 100% varietal Sangiovese. Others wanted the flexibility to experiment with blending French grape varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot or to not be required to blend in any white grape varieties. The late twentieth century saw a flurry of creativity and innovation in the Chianti zones as producers experimented with new grape varieties and introduced modern wine-making techniques such as the use of new oak barrels. The prices and wine ratings of some Super Tuscans would regularly eclipse those of sanctioned Chiantis. The success of the Super Tuscans encouraged government officials to reconsider the regulations in order to bring some of these wines back into the fold labelled as Chianti.

So there you have it, a little history on Chianti  wine and once you try a really good Chianti or Super Tuscan, you'll have a new appreciation beyond the bottles in straw flasks. The region itself is nothing but beautiful rolling green hills, covered with vineyards and ancient medieval towns tucked within them. We plan on getting in the car every day and just driving to see what we find. I don't think we can go wrong with anyplace we find.

Tuesday evening at our friend's parents villa, over the hill, half an our from ours.
The clearing rain made added to the unbelievable view.

We heard it is unusually cooler and rainier than it should be this time of year, but it's still beautiful.
The trees are olive trees.

Scott and Rich

The steaks were unbelievable, from some famous butcher in the neighboring town
that someone had seen on the Food Network.
They were the size of roasts, not an ounce of fat on them, but too big to be filets, so no one's quite
sure of the cut. You're only supposed to cook them like 5 minutes per side, and 15 minutes on end
but we cut them in half and cooked them for a tad longer...medium rare to medium...you cook them
with nothing on them, just a tad bit of salt and pepper, but they came with this powdery salt
that you sprinkle on after cooking....one of the best steaks I've ever had.
We think this is what a "Florentine Steak" is but we need to do some more research.
It was a great dinner and a really nice evening! Thank you to Haley's family!