Chianti: The Wine of the Black Rooster
If you are spending your holidays in Tuscany and you are not familiar with the Italian language, do not worry, there is an infallible way to identify it: the Chianti Classico has a Black Rooster on the neck of the bottle!! That is the symbol of the Consorzio del Vino Chianti Classico (Chianti Classico Wine Consortium) (www.chianticlassico.com), an association of over 600 producers of the Classico sub-area founded in Radda in 1924 with the purpose of protecting and valorizing this great wine in the world.
The Consortium chose the Black Rooster as a symbol for the wine because it already was the historical emblem of the ancient Lega del Chianti. Actually, a romantic Chianti legend has it that Florence and Siena decided to dispute a particular horse race to put an end to their fights for Chianti without any further shedding of blood. Two knights were to leave Florence and Siena, respectively, at dawn, or rather at cock-crow. The meeting point of the two knights would represent the border of the territories of the two towns. The Sienese knight left at dawn, when his white rooster crowed... whereas the clever Florentines chose a black rooster and kept it for a few days in a box with no food to eat. On the day of the race, the rooster began to crow as soon as it was taken out of the box... much earlier than dawn! Thus, the Florentine knight left earlier than the Sienese one and met him in Fonterutoli, only 12 kilometres from Siena. So Florence conquered the Chianti region before the definitive fall of Siena.
Putting the Black Rooster on the neck of the bottles of the Chianti Classico, the Consortium guarantees that the wine completely meets the stringent requirements for its production!
For a Chianti wine to be labelled as "Gallo Nero" (Black Rooster), it must:
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Be produced with grapes cultivated in Chianti;
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Be produced with at least 80% of Sangiovese grapes, maximum 20% of other red grapes (Canaiolo, Colorino, Cabernet, Merlot and others) and no white grapes;
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Have a minimum alcohol level of 12% (12.5% for the wines labelled "Riserva");
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Have a harvest yield of 7.5 tonnes/hectare (which guarantees a high sugar contents and, therefore, a high quality);
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Age for at least 24 (Chianti Classico Riserva)...
The Chianti, therefore, owes its quality to the natural richness of the wonderful region in which it is produced, but also to the professionalism and reliability of the producers!
If, during your holidays in a beautiful farmhouse in the Chianti region, the crowing of a cock wakes you up and makes you think to the legend of the Black Rooster... go back to sleep and dream of a good glass of Chianti!!!
Our most requested villas for vacation rentals:
Villa for holidays on the hills of the Florentine countryside. Accommodation for 12+2 people, garden, private swimming pool, hydro massage, Internet connection.
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Villa for rent in the countryside of Chianti, near Florence. Accommodation for 8/12 people, private swimming pool, outdoor whirlpool bath for 7, Internet connection, children's playground, air conditioning. Golf club, riding stable and tennis club within a few kilometres. Possibility of organising dinners and cooking lessons.
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Villa for vacation rental in Radda in Chianti, between Florence and Siena, in the Tuscan countryside. Accommodation for 10 people, garden, swimming pool, panoramic view, Internet connection.
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Villa with swimming pool for rent near Siena for holidays in Tuscany. Villa with accommodation for 4/6 people, panoramic view on Siena.
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