Chianti

Chianti is Italy's most famous red wine. It used to be easily identified by its squat bottles covered in straw baskets, called fiaschi.

It is produced in Tuscany, in strictly delimited areas among the provinces of Florence, Siena and Grosseto. It is based mainly on Sangiovese grapes but also includes other varieties. Chianti is a DOC, but corresponds to a much larger area than the region originally known as Chianti. Wine from this smaller region is labelled Chianti Classico and is a DOCG. It typically has a picture of a black rooster (known in Italian as a gallo nero) on the neck of the bottle. Chianti Classico that meets slightly more stringent requirements, primarily with respect to aging, may be labelled Chianti Classico Riserva.