Chianti and Sangiovese

The first Friday in September has been noted as “National Chianti Day” by a wine importer called Santa Margherita USA. Chianti is a wine region in Italy and is made with at least 80% Sangiovese. That is the short story but if we go long, there are also many sub-regions all with different designations of Chianti. (We are not going long here.)

Sangiovese being the primary grape has medium to high tannins and is high in acid. It’s flavors are herbaceous or earthy with red cherry being the leading fruit flavor characteristic. The berries are medium sized and the stems are dense and woody which adds to the tannins. 

My personal experience in making Sangiovese has changed over the years. Last year being the most significant Sangio downer when I crushed almost 3000 pound of grapes to make a Sangiovese Rosé which yielded just under 100 gallons of wine. It was a very costly wine to make. 

Using Sangiovese as a blending wine is super fun though, and my favorite Sangio companion is, of course, Barbera. A blend of the two is what I use for my Felicity, a favorite of some. There is a point when adding Barbera to Sangiovese that the flavor characteristic pops to a black cherry taste. This black cherry flavor profile is in many red wines and is my favorite to try and achieve in wine blending. When blending Sangiovese with Barbera the black cherry experience is profound.

Salute!

Sharon