The region of Chianti is a tiny area in the heart of Tuscany between Siena and Florence and overlooks the Elsa Valley. The land is fertile with olive groves, green forests, and those delicious grapes just waiting to be picked off the vine and smashed into the most heavenly of drinks-Chianti wine.
For many years, Italians have enjoyed the prestige of being recognized for having the largest harvest of grapes and the finest vintages of wine in the Mediterranean. The present day farmers can thank the Phoenicians for bringing vines to this area. They named the area, Oenotria, the land of wine. The ripe fields, combined with the sun and Tuscan air led many others to this area to cultivate the grapes including, the Greeks, Etruscans, and Roman. In many cases, these cultures brought their own vines to mingle with the originals.
A plague of insects, called phylloxera, swept through Europe in the18th century effectively halting wine production in the area. The insects were known to feed on the roots and leaves, destroying the vines. Eventually Italian vintners triumphed over the insect and recovered from the loss.
In the late 1960s the land of the Chianti area was in...