Tuscany is famous for its variety of good quality wines from Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino, to Vernaccia di San Gimignano and many more.

Chianti is the most widely known Italian wine and became the World's first officially defined wine producing area in 1716, the year Cosimo III drew the boundaries within which the vineyards could use the region's name on their product. Modern Chianti dates from the 1860's when Bettino Ricasoli (unified Italy's second prime minister) established the classic formula for the wine at his estate at Brolio, based on Sangiovese; central Italy's predominant red grape.

Chianti became a DOCG in 1984 and, this recent change, allows the wine to be produced from pure Sangiovese. Chianti is by far Italy's highest volume DOCG produced wine.
There are seven classified regions of which the best are Chianti Classico and Chianti Rufina. The better Chaintis mature in about four to seven years. A Riserva is a Cru version aged for a minimum of two and a half years before bottling.

The most well known Chianti is of course Chianti Classico. The original delineated district accounts for a third of the Chianti produced. In 1924 Chianti Classico was institutionalized taking the Black Cock as its trademark (Gallo Nero); once the heraldic symbol of the baronial alliance called the Lega di Chianti.


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