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A rooster on the bottle

After focusing on more serious and comprehensive topics I decided to devote some time to something that we often associate with Italy – wine. In Italy wine is drunk a lot and often and the percentage of alcohol consumption has remained at a similar level for years – 54%. The most famous red wines are Barolo from Piedmont region, Brunello di Montalcino and Chianti Classico from Tuscany, Taurasi from Campania region.

The Chianti wine is one of the best known Italian wines in Poland. It’s produced in the Chianti region in the central Tuscany between Florence and Siena. Currently, as many as 1,500 manufacturers of Chianti wine are registered! Therefore, while choosing wine we have to pay attention to what we choose. The Chianti wine is divided into classic and “other”. The Chianti Classico refers to vineyards near the villages of Gaiole, Castellina and Radda that in 18th century were in so-called Lega del Chianti. And only Chianti from that area can use the mark of black roster which is its distinctive symbol. The quality of wines produced in the classic zone has been incomparably better, refined and it is claimed to be produced of the best grapes in Tuscany. They  require a longer ageing process, around two years. But still also other Chianti wines have a good quality and status DOCG (the inscription Denominazione di origine controllata we can find on bottles of Italian wines).

source:https://www.bellaitaliatour.com/lifestyle/4-things-you-may-ask-yourself-before-having-a-chianti-wine-tasting/ 

Another characteristic of Chianti wine is a bottle called fiasco. It’s a container for the transport and storage of wine. Its origins date back to the 15th century in Tuscany. Fiasco usually has a round bottom and it is partially or completely covered with a straw basket. Chianti wine in a bottle fiasco is often bought by tourists and is certainly a good souvenir from visit in the region.

The wine owes its fame to Baron Bettino Ricasoli who perfected the recipe in 19th century that is now Sangiovese based (a red Italian wine grape variety from central Italy) and we still can visit his castle - The Castello di Brolio - in San Regolo. Supposedly baron shared his wine recipe with local residents and later he expanded the transport to deliver bottles to larger cities.

But why a rooster as a mark for wine? According to a legend long time ago Florence and Siena were arguing about this territory. Finally it was decided how to resolve this situation - the next day, the knights on horseback will set out from their cities and the place of their meeting will define the boundaries between the republics. The time of departure was supposed to be determined by the crowing of roosters. Siena chose a white and fat rooster but Florence chose a black and thin one. The black rooster was kept all night without nothing to eat and it was released at midnight. After seeing the food it was so joyful that it began to crow. So the Florentine knights left the city even though it was still dark and they almost reached the walls of Siena. Who knows how much truth there is but the black rooster became a symbol of wine from this region which was later called Chianti.

source: https://winicjatywa.pl/chianti-classico-podwojne-znaczenie-slow/# 


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