Some historical information
In 1716, the Grand Duke of Tuscany Cosimo III defined the borders of the production area of Chianti to be between Florence and Siena. Thus, the place took the name from the wine produced there. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the success of this wine increased, thus the producers decided to found an Association. The black cock, which was chosen as its symbol, was used before for the Military League of Chianti, and is also present in Giorgio Vasari’s painting on the ceiling of the Salone dei Cinquecento inside Palazzo Vecchio in Florence.
Confusion and definition
It was on this occasion that confusion began, because in the same period, for commercial reasons, the wine also started being produced outside the Chianti area, but with the same name. In 1932, in an effort to clear up the confusion, the Italian government issued a decree, stating that Chianti produced in the original zone would be called Classico, and the wine produced outside of it would just be called Chianti.
Summarizing
The name Chianti is used for:
– The place of origin of the Chianti Classico wine, which today includes the districts of Castellina, Gaiola, Greve e Radda in Chianti and, part of Barberino Val d’Elsa, Castelnuovo Berardenga, Poggibonsi, San Casciano and Tavarnelle Val di Pesa.
– The Chianti wine produced outside this area.
The wine produced in the original area is called Chianti Classico, the only one with the black cock symbol.
