Chianti Wine: Made From The Blood Of Gods!

Chianti is a popular red wine adored the world over. Here, we're discussing everything you need to know about this lovely, fruit-driven wine. Cheers!

Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction
00:27 - The History (Why a Black Rooster?)
02:49 - Flavor Profile
03:48 - Serving Suggestions
04:43 - Food Pairings
05:58 - The Chianti Classification Conundrum
09:34 - The Super Tuscan
11:22 - Final Thoughts

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The story of Chianti — a much beloved, red-fruit-driven wine — begins as so many of the best stories do — with a fierce territorial dispute between two Italian city-states, settled — ultimately — by a rooster

In this video we’re talking about Chianti — exploring what it is, what it tastes like, complex Italian classification structures, history, and more!

Let’s dive in:

Italy — somewhere between Florence and Siena — Middle Ages.

Both the Florentine and Sienese republics wanted control of the Chianti region.

To settle things once and for all, they agreed to a bloodless duel (of sorts). Here’s how it worked:

Each city-state elected a knight to represent their interests.

At dawn, on the day of the challenge, the knights would be awakened by the crowing of a rooster, and would immediately ride toward the opposing city.

The border between the two states would then be drawn wherever the two knights met on their journey — and the battle for control would be decided firmly, finally, fairly, and for all time.

Easy.

For the job of alarm clock (or alarm cockerel, as it were), the Sienese selected a white rooster. He was well fed and well looked-after in the days leading up to the challenge

While the Florentines chose a black rooster, and more or less left him to go hungry.

As a result of not having had enough food, the black rooster crowed much earlier than his Sienese counterpart, and sent the Florentine rider off well before dawn.

Legend has it that the knights met less than 15 kilometers outside of Siena, to the lingering displeasure of the Sienese.

And with that, Florence won control of Chianti, and the black rooster attained lasting fame as a symbol of the region (and of outstanding Chianti wine — as, today, you can find a black rooster in a red circle embossed on all bottles of Chianti Classico).

That’s all very nice…But what is Chianti? Well…

At the most basic level, Chianti is a dry, medium-bodied red wine named for the Chianti region in Tuscany (where it’s from).

[Continued in video...]

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Works Cited:

Mowery, Lauren. “A Beginner’s Guide to Chianti and Chianti Classico.” Wine Enthusiast.

Schiessl, Courtney. “The Definitive Guide to the Regions of Chianti (With Map).” VinePair.

[reneejarvis]

Loved the rooster on the label story. Makes for a great conversation starter!

[CalvinWatkins]

Last night I had fava beans with a nice Chianti!

[Rog.Tiks._]

Your Italian sounds sweet with that accent!

[zachzeurcher]

I love that Chianti still maintains somewhat of the cheap perception. Can can some great wines for little cost

[Maitairanch]

Very helpful. I’m working at a restaurant @ four seasons in Hawaii. Trying to up my knowledge in wine and this video alone was so helpful

[ledojaeger]

Here because a staff member at a local liquor shop told me that "the story of the rooster is pretty funny, actually"

[Dingomush]

And, what difference does it make? The top sommeliers can’t pick out a cheap wine from an expensive one. It’s been proven over and over again. You are just pushing so you can hit a higher sales point. It’s just greed….