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' . . . With some fava beans and a nice Chianti'   "With some fava beans and a nice Chianti! . . ." and with that distinct, eerie spoken line Sir Anthony Hopkins single-handedly launched the 90s sales boom on Chianti! People who didn't even like Chianti were running out to buy cases of the light and cheerful juice. And what a great line it was — we all couldn't wait until the next bottle was uncorked so we could recite it with full, animated passion and cinematic effect — fefefefefe! Chianti is probably one of the most understood (and label complex) wines out there. Is it a place? Is it a grape? Or is it a style? Well, to start off on the right path, we have to head halfway around the world to Tuscany, Italy, a place where the red clay brick roofs absorb the intense heat of the beating Tuscan sun. Chianti, which is a region located within Tuscany, is arguably Italy's most famous red. In days of ole' it was produced in squat, gourd-like bottles woven in straw (called a fiasco). Nowadays it is bottled in the more traditional Cabernet-like bottle. Chianti was the classic "big table, family get together" wine when I was growing up. I remember the 1.5 liter bottles spaced out every five feet on the banquet tables of weddings and holiday functions alike. It was tasty, it was plentiful, and it was cheap! It was the time of $10 Chianti and people loved it. The name (or word) Chianti as a wine-defining area came to be in 1716. In 1932 the Chianti area was given a complete make-over and made into the very large area (with seven sub-areas) that it is today. These areas, which are very important as far as reading the labels go are: Classico, Colli Arenti, Colli Fiorentini, Colline Pisane, Colli Senesi, Montalbano, Montespertoli and Rùfina. Upon its conception, Chianti was an exportable gem — so much so that many regions of central Tuscany didn't want to miss out on the wine train to the west. As a result of this; Chianti grew about 10 percent larger in territory. Wines labeled Chianti Classico hail from the largest sub area of Chianti. Until the middle 1800s, Chianti was solely made from the Sangiovese grape (whose name is derived from sanguis Jovis, "the blood of Jove." When young, Sangio (as it's called in the hip wine circuit) is fresh and full of strawberry, cherry fruit, roses, violets and a cheeky bit of spice and acid. When it's aged in oak it can become tarry, bold — and yes — oaky! During the second half of the 19th century the prime minister imposed his idea that Chinati should be produced with 70 percent Sangiovese, 15 percent Canaiolo and 15 percent Malvasia Bianca (an aromatic white grape). This carried on for a little while until the 1970s when the move back to only Sangiovese Chianti started to return. In 1995 it was legal to use 100 percent Sangiovese or at least no white grapes. For a wine to carry the name Chianti it now must contain at least 80 percent Sangiovese and solely come from the Chianti Region — by law! Many bottles have a black rooster (gallo nero) on the bottle, which indicates that the producer is a member of the "Gallo Nero" consortium (an association of producers within the sub-area of Classico). Chianti gets a little tricky (and technical) in the labeling, aging and denomination stages, which is where most wine drinkers/buyers tend to get lost. Chianti falls under an Italian quality assurance label (called the DOC or Denominazione de origine controllata) that is modeled after the French AOC (Appellation d'origine contrôlée - controlled term of origin). It was founded in 1963 and given an update in 1992 in compliance of the EU laws on protected designation of origin, which came into effect that year. The three label levels are as follows: * DOC - Denominazione di Origine Controllata * DOCG - Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita * DO - Denominazione di Origine All three require that any food (or wine in this case) product produced within the specified region is made using defining methods and that it satisfies a defined quality standard — easy enough! DOCG regions are sub-territories of DOC regions that produce outstanding products that may be subject to more stringent production and quality standards than the same products from the surrounding DOC region. The need for DOCG identification arose when the DOC denomination was, in the view of many Italian food industries, given too liberally to different products. A new, more restrictive identification was then created, as similar as possible to the previous one so that buyers could still recognize it, but qualitatively different. A notable difference for wines is that DOCG labeled wines are analyzed and tasted by government-licensed personnel before being bottled. To prevent later manipulation, DOCG wine bottles are then sealed with a numbered governmental seal across the cap or cork. How's that for a simple explanation? Italian legislation additionally regulates the use of the following qualifying terms for wines: Classico: Reserved for wines produced in the region where a particular type of wine has been produced "traditionally." For the Chianti Classico, this "traditional region" is defined by a decree fromJuly 10, 1932 and must contain 70 percent Sangiovese. Riserva: May be used only for wines that have been aged at least two years longer than normal for a particular type of wine. Superiore: A specification for wines produced with a stricter rule of production (lower yield, higher alcohol and dry extract) than other Chianti wines and must contain at least 75 percent Sangiovese. On the subject of Sangiovese and Chianti, these is another all-important wine acronym from this twisted up world called IGT (brought upon the wine world by Mr. Antinori). This category was created in 1992 to accommodate the interest in creating quality wines outside of the scope of the DOC rules. The Indicazione Geografica Tipica (Typical Regional Wine) or IGT is a classification of wines, from outlying areas that indicates a product is more than just a table wine, some of these costing hundreds of dollars. IGT wines are from a specified geographic area but may or may not contain the grape varietals and production methods normally associated with that area (outside the DOC) a great example would be Sassicaia (Cabernet from Tuscany). So even thought IGT (Super Tuscan) wines containing Sangiovese grapes are stunning — such as Tignanello, they cannot be legally called Chianti as they are from out of the zone. Although this is often thought of a bridge between table wines and DOC wines, that would be incorrect. In fact, the IGT label carries with it its own set of restrictions. One consumer friendly feature to these wines is that many will list the grape varietals on the label. In the end though; the IGT is another method of indicating where the wine is from. No more or less — just some info for the wine drinker as to what is in the bottle. Michael Pataran is the executive chef/partner at Shogun Revolver restaurant. To have your wine questions answered e-mail michael@shogunrevolver.com. Wine of the Week 2005 Antinori, Péppoli Chianti Classico, DOCG, Toscano, Italy ($24.55 at Bristol) Grape: 90% Sangiovese, 5% Merlot, 5% Syrah Color: Deep garnet, ruby red in color Nose: Black cherry, lilac, licorice, spice, currants, coffee and vanilla with a good amount of alcohol (13% abv) Palate: Dry cherry with tight black pepper, coffee, strawberry and well balanced acid. This wine combines the fruitiness of a young Chianti with the complex structure or a riserva. Well made wine with a sweet, smooth finish and great overall balance, drink now through 2010. Patsy Points: 90 points Wednesday,May 13,2009