'Classico' refers to the historic area where the wine (Chianti) is, or has always been, produced. The Chianti Classico region falls between Florence and Siena, and only Chianti from this sub-region can carry the black rooster seal on its bottle.
Black Rooster sculpture in Gaiole, Italy
I remember early on in my studies I thought 'why a rooster?'. About 800 years ago there was a territorial feud going on between Florence and Siena over who would rule more land in the Chianti hills. In order to settle this, at the crack of dawn each town would have a horseman ride into the region toward each other and where ever the two met would be the boundary line. Therefore whoever made it the furthest into the region conquered more land.
Where does the rooster come in? Well they didn't have alarm clocks back then, so to make sure each rider was up right at dawn, each town picked a rooster to wake them. Siena picked a white rooster who was well fed, strong, and would be determined to crow, while Florence picked a black rooster who was deprived of food thinking that a hungry rooster would be up earlier to look for food. Can we take a guess at who crowed first in the morning? The black rooster prevailed, Florence claimed a larger stake in the Chianti area, and in 1384 a black rooster became a symbol for Chianti! While this story falls under the 'legend has it' category, it's still pretty amazing :)
Source: popandpour.ca
I spent 3 days in Florence and drove all over the Chianti countryside with my husband and sister. This is the land of old castles, Tuscan Villas, and some pretty aggressive drivers (just a heads up!) and we got a chance to visit some pretty incredible and historic wineries. See below <3
Me and the husband with the hills of Chianti in the background
Barone Ricasoli - Oldest winery in Italy
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I forgot to mention - the main grape used in Chianti wines is Sangiovese!
Happy faces after a top notch roadtrip :)
Thanks for reading <3
Jen
That is a very cool story, even if it is only mostly legend. I have always liked Chianti. I have made a lot of different wines (all from kits - never directly from the grapes), but I have never made a Chianti. I will put that on my list to get a batch of it done sometime this year. And I will need to remember this story and look for the black rooster. :)
What an adventure, the pictures tell more!
great.
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Interesting story, thanks for her and for the cock)
So sweet i like wine alot but sweet ones.. 😂 nice post
This is a great post! and I really liked your shots :) I haven't been to Italy yet, but looking forward to visiting some day! I also post my traveling experiences, you can check them on my profile :)
hello hello friend today I was able to read your post. very interesting the history of the bottle of chianti wine and its label of the black cock is a sensational idea the originality and culture of that population is conserved. It is nice to recognize the work of the person when they do it good applies for your case I congratulate you.you.do not forget to follow me.I invite you to read my post.por favot comemta and vota.takecare
Very interesting story of rooster as a sign of time
very interesting post, I've never seen a chicken that big, maybe it's one of the labels of a quality wine.
Yes, a very nice place and a good red wine. And impressive stairs...
Nic post
Its a good story you got there... looks like you really enjoyed...an really nice picture too
curious message, very good
Super cool. My fiance and I are getting married in Tuscany later this year!
Oh wow! Congrats :)
Hey @kpine if you're interested in wine you may like my blog as well. It would be awesome to have your support as well
Amazing photos, Jen! I would love going to visit old castles and historic wineries. I love all about history and monumental places. I really like your post because I was feeling me into the travel!
I’ve been ANTINORI and it was amazing! Our tour team drank all the wine in the tasting room🙌 Looks like you also had a wonderful time there
That's a very interesting way to distinguish a border, never heared one like that! Lovely story and pictures
Tuscany, such a wonderful region to visit, IMO in all times from spring to autumn.
Let's play a game. So this photo is from a trip around Tuscany. Where is it taken?