- Advice
Chianti Wine: Far More Than a Straw-Covered Bottle
Forget the raffia-wrapped bottle on the checked tablecloth. Modern Chianti is one of Italy's great red wine stories.
- Words By House of Decant
For a generation, Chianti meant a raffia-wrapped bottle on a checked tablecloth, more candle-holder than fine wine. Forget all of that. Modern Chianti is one of Italy's great red wine stories.
It comes from the hills between Florence and Siena, and at its best it is fresh, savoury and endlessly food-friendly. The cheap fiasco of the 1970s did it a disservice that the region has spent decades putting right.
Sangiovese, the Tuscan Soul
The heart of Chianti is Sangiovese: high in acidity, singing with sour cherry, dried herbs and a savoury, almost tomato-leaf edge. It is not a plush, sink-into-the-sofa red. It is bright, nervy and alive, which is precisely why it loves food so much.
Classico and the Black Rooster
Look for the black rooster seal: it marks Chianti Classico, the historic heartland and generally the better wine. Riserva and Gran Selezione mean longer ageing and more ambition. Straight Chianti from the wider zone can still be a lovely, honest midweek red.
Chianti was never meant to be sipped alone. It comes alive the moment food arrives.
Made for the Table
Anything with tomato is a home run: ragù, a proper pizza, pasta al pomodoro. Push the boat out with a Florentine steak and a Classico Riserva. This is the wine that makes Italian food taste more like itself.
