Chianti

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Accessory grape varieties

Terroir

• The Chianti territory is divided geologically into four systems in descending order of age: Miocene–Eocene pre-Apennine ridges, Pliocene hills, the intermontane basin of the Valdarno Superiore with Pleistocene deposits, and alluvial deposits.
• Substrates range from sandy, calcareous-marly, argillaceous schists, and sand to soils with mixed grain sizes, sometimes tending towards sandy or clayey, even within the same estate.
• The climate falls within the broader inland hill zone of Tuscany, classifiable as humid to sub-humid, with summer water deficit and a mean annual rainfall of 867 mm.
• Peak rainfall generally occurs in November at 121 mm, while the minimum is recorded in July at 32 mm.
• August is on average the warmest month, with mean temperatures above 23 °C, while January is typically the coldest, with mean temperatures around 5 °C.

• The Chianti production zone was delimited for the first time by the Decree of 31 July 1932, then recognised as a DOC in 1967 and as a DOCG in 1984.
• In the 1970s, the transition from sharecropping (mezzadria) to direct estate management transformed the old mixed-cultivation vineyards into specialised vineyards, often planted with up-slope row orientation (rittochino).
• In 1870, Baron Bettino Ricasoli defined the ampelographic basis of Chianti wine and introduced special winemaking techniques such as governo all'uso Toscano.
• The Consorzio vino Chianti was established in 1927, driven by the innovative and entrepreneurial spirit of Florentine winegrowers, to defend and protect the domestic trade and export of the traditional Chianti wine.

• The mean annual rainfall of 867 mm, combined with a summer water deficit, allows for correct grape ripening, surpassing the analytical parameters required by the production specification.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

Sottozone

• Chianti Colli Aretini DOCG (PDO)
• Chianti Colli Fiorentini DOCG (PDO)
• Chianti Colli Senesi DOCG (PDO)
• Chianti Colline Pisane DOCG (PDO)
• Chianti Montalbano DOCG (PDO)
• Chianti Montespertoli DOCG (PDO)
• Chianti Rufina DOCG (PDO)

All appellations in Italy

Sources

• Specification (EUR-Lex, single document)
• eAmbrosia register (EU) — File number PDO-IT-A1228
• Official trade body site — Consorzio Vino Chianti