Chianti - Tuscany

You find yourself placidly lounging in the fragrant garden of a charmingly quaint villa, gazing at a distant medieval fortress while sipping a bottle of this year's best Italian vintage…. Think you are only dreaming? You are in the Tuscan region of Chianti, and this is not a dream-but, it could be paradise! Italy's most famed wine district and an area encompassing over 300,000 square meters, Chianti appeals to every possible aesthetic with its lush forested landscape, checkerboard hills and valleys, fairytale castles, vagrant vineyards and sunlit olive groves. Hundreds of thousands of sunflowers will turn their heads to watch you bike or drive by as you tour this infinite source of culture, nature, architecture, history, gastronomy and wines. Directly in the center of Tuscany between the two traditional rival-cities of Siena and Florence, the Chianti region is divided into Chianti Fiorentino and Chianti Senese. The Sienese part of the territory contains what are known as the more "historical" communes: Radda, Gaiole and Castellina (the old Chianti League, or "Lega del Chianti"), and Castelnuovo Beradenga. Other regional towns include Barberino Val d'Elsa, Poggibonsi, Greve in Chianti and Panzano in Chianti.

History
As with much of Italy, the Etruscans inhabited this area early in history, and it is they who are thought to have first brought viticulture to Tuscany during the 7th and 8th centuries B.C.

Most notable is the historic dispute between the rival cities Florence and Siena, who fought desperately over this fertile region. According to legend, the dispute was settled by a contest: both cities were to send out a rider at the first crowing of the cock, and the border would be drawn precisely at the point where the two riders met. The artful Florentines, however, starved their black cockerel so that it would crow well before dawn. Thus, the Florentine rider covered a much greater distance than his Sienese competitor, and the Chianti region known as Lega del Chianti (formed by the cities of Radda, Gaiole, and Castellina) was won for Florence.

The significance of the black rooster emerged once again in recent past when, in the year 1924, the Consorzio per la difesa del vino tipico del Chianti, was formed and took the black rooster (or "Gallo Nero") as its symbol. Wines from this specific subzone of Chianti, the Chianti Classico region, all wear the black rooster symbol on their bottles and are generally the best known of Chianti wines.

Sights
Chianti is one of a small number of DOCG ("Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita", i.e. "Checked and Guaranteed Origin Name") areas in Italy, and is one of five located in the Tuscan region (the others being Carmignano, Brunello di Monatlcino, Vernaccia di San Gimignano, and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano). The Chianti DOCG is a single appellation, but actually refers to seven subzones (the most famous being Chianti Classico, which occupies the territory from the area around Florence south to the Siena region). The remaining six subzones include: Chianti Aretini, Chianti Colli Fiorentini, Chianti Colli Senesi, Chianti Colline Pisane, Chianti Montalbano, and Chianti Ruffina.

Links: http://www.terraditoscana.com