Editing Chianti (section)

==History==
{{Main|Chianti (region)|History of Chianti}}
[[File:Grand Duke CosimoIII of Tuscany by van Douven.jpg|left|thumb|150px|In 1716 [[Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany|Cosimo III de' Medici]], the [[List of rulers of Tuscany|Grand Duke of Tuscany]], legislated the first official boundaries of the Chianti region in what is today part of the Chianti Classico DOCG.]]
The earliest documentation of a "Chianti wine" dates back to the 14th century, when viticulture was known to flourish in the ''"Chianti Mountains"'' around Florence. A military league called ''Lega del Chianti'' (League of Chianti) was formed around 1250 between the townships of Castellina, Gaiole and Radda, which would lead to the wine from this area taking on a similar name.<ref name="Madaio1">{{cite web |last1=Madaio |first1=Mike |title=Chianti: Why Are There Two DOCG Regions? |url=https://medium.com/vintager/chianti-why-are-there-two-docgs-9efeaeea0e2e |website=Medium |access-date=16 February 2021}}</ref> In 1398 the earliest-known record notes Chianti as a white wine,<ref name="Oxford pp 162-163">J. Robinson (ed), ''The Oxford Companion to Wine'', third edition, pp. 162–163, Oxford University Press, 2006 {{ISBN|0-19-860990-6}}</ref> though the red wines of Chianti were also discussed around the same time in similar documents.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Nesto |first1=Bill |last2=Di Savino |first2=Frances |title=Chianti Classico: The Search for Tuscany's Noblest Wine |date=2016 |publisher=University of California Press}}</ref> 

The first attempt to classify Chianti wine in any way came in 1427, when Florence developed a tariff system for the wines of the surrounding countryside, including an area referred to as "Chianti and its entire province".<ref name="Madaio1" /> In 1716 [[Cosimo III de' Medici]], Grand Duke of Tuscany, issued an edict legislating that the three villages of the ''Lega del Chianti'' ([[Castellina in Chianti]], [[Gaiole in Chianti]] and [[Radda in Chianti]]) as well as the village of [[Greve (Chianti)|Greve]] and a {{convert|2|mi|km|adj=mid|-long stretch|abbr=off|order=flip}} of hillside north of Greve near [[:it:Spedaluzzo|Spedaluzzo]] as the only officially recognised producers of Chianti. This delineation existed until July 1932, when the Italian government expanded the Chianti zone to include the outlying areas of [[Barberino Val d'Elsa]], [[Chiocchio]], [[:it:Robbiano|Robbiano]], [[San Casciano in Val di Pesa]] and [[:it:Strada in Chianti|Strada]]. Subsequent expansions in 1967 would eventually result in the Chianti zone covering a very large area all over central Tuscany.

[[File:Bettino Ricasoli.jpg|150px|thumb|Baron [[Bettino Ricasoli]] developed the first "modern" Chianti recipe that was Sangiovese based.]]

By the 18th century Chianti was widely recognised as a red wine, but the exact composition and grape varieties used to make Chianti at this point is unknown. [[Ampelographer]]s find clues about which grape varieties were popular at the time in the writings of Italian writer [[Cosimo Villifranchi]], who noted that [[Canaiolo]] was a widely planted variety in the area along with Sangiovese, [[Mammolo]] and [[Marzemino]].<ref name="Oxford pp 162-163"/> It was not until the work of the Italian statesman [[Bettino Ricasoli]] that the modern Chianti recipe as a Sangiovese-based wine would take shape.<ref name="Johnson pp 414-420">H. Johnson ''Vintage: The Story of Wine'' pp. 414-420 Simon and Schuster 1989 {{ISBN|0-671-68702-6}}</ref> 

Prior to Ricasoli, Canaiolo was emerging as the dominant variety in the Chianti blend with Sangiovese and [[Malvasia Bianca Lunga]] playing supporting roles. In the mid-19th century, Ricasoli developed a recipe for Chianti that was based primarily on Sangiovese. Though he is often credited with creating and disseminating a specific formula (typically reported as 70% Sangiovese, 20% Canaiolo, 10% Malvasia Bianca Lunga), a review of his correspondence of the time does not corroborate this.<ref name="Madaio2" /> In addition, his efforts were quickly corrupted by other local winemakers (for example, replacing Malvasia with [[Trebbiano]] Toscano, or relying too heavily on the latter), leading to further misunderstanding of the "Ricasoli formula".<ref name="Madaio2" /> In 1967, the ''Denominazione di origine controllata'' (DOC) regulation set by the Italian government was based on a loose interpretation of Ricasoli's "recipe", calling for a Sangiovese-based blend with 10–30% Malvasia and Trebbiano.<ref name="Wine pp 402-411"/>

The late 19th century saw a period of economic and political upheaval. First came [[Uncinula necator|oidium]] and then the [[phylloxera epidemic]] would take its toll on the vineyards of Chianti just as they had ravaged vineyards across the rest of Europe. The chaos and poverty following the ''[[Risorgimento]]'' heralded the beginning of the [[Italian diaspora]] that would take Italian vineyard workers and winemakers abroad as immigrants to new lands.<ref name="Johnson pp 414-420"/> Those that stayed behind and replanted choose high-yielding varieties like [[Trebbiano]] and Sangiovese clones such as the ''Sangiovese di Romagna'' from the nearby [[Romagna]] region. Following the [[Second World War]], the general trend in the world wine market for cheap, easy-drinking wine saw a brief boom for the region. With over-cropping and an emphasis on quantity over quality, the reputation of Chianti among consumers eventually plummeted. By the 1950s, Trebbiano (which is known for its neutral flavours) made up to 30% of many mass-market Chiantis.<ref name="MacNeil pp 376-379">K. MacNeil ''The Wine Bible'' pp. 376-379 Workman Publishing 2001 {{ISBN|1-56305-434-5}}</ref> 

By the late 20th century, Chianti was often associated with basic Chianti sold in a squat bottle enclosed in a straw basket, called a ''fiasco''. However, during the same period, a group of ambitious producers began working outside the boundaries of DOC regulations to make what they believed would be a higher-quality wine. These wines eventually became known as the "[[Super Tuscans]]".<ref name="Oxford pp 162-163"/>

[[File:Italian DOCG Chianti label.jpg|left|thumb|The Italian DOCG Chianti label]]

Many of the producers behind the Super Tuscan movement were originally Chianti producers who were rebelling against what they felt were antiquated DOC regulations. Some of these producers wanted to make Chiantis that were 100% [[varietal]] Sangiovese. Others wanted the flexibility to experiment with blending [[French (wine)|French]] grape varieties such as [[Cabernet Sauvignon]] and [[Merlot]] or to not be required to blend in any white grape varieties. The late 20th century saw a flurry of creativity and innovation in the Chianti zones as producers experimented with new grape varieties and introduced modern wine-making techniques such as the use of new [[Oak barrels (wine)|oak barrels]]. The prices and [[wine ratings]] of some Super Tuscans would regularly eclipse those of DOC-sanctioned Chiantis. The success of the Super Tuscans encouraged government officials to reconsider the DOC regulations in order to bring some of these wines back into the fold labelled as Chianti.<ref name="Wine pp 402-411"/>