Chianti winery

Currently, the spurred cordon system is now widely diffused in Chianti, especially in new vineyards. It is a training system that offers good prospects for mechanization and it is capable of providing premium products. If the traditional system of cultivation is used, the soil is plowed many times each year. Currently, the practice of planting grass among the vines has increasingly gained ground, especially in vineyards on steep slopes. This assures better drainage of rainwater and, therefore, limits erosion. Toward the middle of April, the vine reawakens and begins to vegetate once more. Buds from which canes and flowers will sprout appear on the vines, although flowering will not occur before the first decade of June. The vine produces small, white and extremely odorous blossoms that resemble snowflakes viewed through a microscope. Setting, when the flower changes into a fruit, occurs at the end of the month. In the beginning, the small Sangiovese berry is green in color but in the heat of July and the early days of August it will progressively darken-the process is known as veraison. At that point, ripening has begun and the grape will develop the substances, sugars and polyphenols, that are essential to the production of a great wine. At the same time, the level of acidity will decline to excellent levels. September is, perhaps, the most important and most delicate period since it is then that ripening occurs. The variations in temperatures between sunny days and cool nights are essential to the completion of this lengthy process. Harvesting is carried out in October with the exact dates varying according to the type of grape and the degree of ripeness. In the lower zones (San Casciano, the lowest slopes of the hills around Greve, Castellina and Castelnuovo Berardenga), picking may begin at the end of September. Grapes at Radda, Gaiole, Panzano and the upper part of the Castellina zone ripen more slowly.

Once they have reached the winery, the grapes are removed from the stalks and pressed. The must is transferred to various types of containers where it begins to ferment. In its first phase, a lcoholic fermentation is tumultuous and can generate temperatures as high as 30 degrees C. (86° F). The duration of the maceration of the skins varies in accordance with the vintage and consequently the characteristics of the grapes. Generally, however, it lasts an average of two weeks. During that period, the skins of the grapes, forced upward by the gas produced by the transformation of the sugars of the must into alcohol as a result of the action of yeasts, forms a compact mass that is known as the cap. To secure the most from the raw material, the fermenting wine is pumped over the cap, which is also punched down and broken up. This process extracts from the skins the polyphenols that give the wine its color and assure its longevity, in addition to providing the aromatic substances that will determine the complexity of the bouquet.

After the wine is devatted or separated from the pressings, it is drawn off into tanks where a second fermentation will occur before the arrival of spring. In this malolactic fermentation, aggressive malic acid is transformed into softer lactic acid. To secure a perfectly limpid beverage, the wine is racked numerous times in March and April. According to tradition, the final racking occurs at the moment when the flowering of the vines announces the arrival of the summer heat. Afterward, the wine that will go on sale relatively soon remains in the tank or it is placed in casks for a short time. However, Chianti Classico that will become a Riserva undergoes a prolonged stay in wood.