Chianti

Geologically the area falls into four systems, from the oldest pre-Apennine ridges through Pliocene hills and the Pleistocene basin of the upper Valdarno to river deposits. Most vineyards lie between 200 and 400 metres, never above 700, in a climate of humid winters and dry summers with around 870 mm of rain.

The wine must be at least 70 per cent Sangiovese; white grapes may make up no more than a tenth, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc no more than 15 per cent. A Riserva ages at least two years. Chianti became a DOC in 1967 and a DOCG in 1984. Its vineyards were remade from the 1970s, when the old sharecropping system ended and mixed plantings of vines among other crops gave way to specialised vineyards.