Chianti aficionados gathered at the InterContinental Hotel in downtown Miami recently.
The Chianti seminar promised to be interesting and tasteful. It didn’t disappoint. The experts gave us a brief introduction to Italy’s history and to the Tuscany region of Italy where many wonderful grapes beg to be nourished, picked, squeezed robustly, fondled intensely and eventually get introduced to anxious taste buds all around the globe. Words such as subregions and diversity were omnipresent.
Wines back in the Middle Ages were strongly linked to religion and the Church. The true birth of Chianti wines bloomed in the 14th century. There were Russo (reds) and Blanqui (whites), and eventually a rainbow of colors that would please wine lovers everywhere.
We learned about plateaus and altitudes, woodlands where the grapes grow, principally oak, chestnut, pine as well as cypress’ that are situated on plateaus at altitudes between 200 and 800 meters. Climates were discussed, day-night temperature variations as well as low winter temperature variations, soils which tend to range from clayey-schists, limestones sandstone, etc.
Experts such as Lynn Farmer talked about origins, pruning, vinification, yeast, bottle aging, alcohol, total acidity, PH, residual sugar and annual productions.
Finally, there was a sigh of relief when the thirsty audience got to ‘taste the liquid of the Gods’. What can I possible add except…under the teeth, over the gums, watch out tummy here it comes.”
All kidding aside, it’s a fascinating subject that is so much more complex than most people realize
Cheers.