snipp-ed
> >The use of the Chianti name on wine
> >requires controlled origin, so it is not possible to find any Chianti
that
> >does not come from Italy.
>
> I know that, too. Like Champagne not made in the Champagne region not
being
> called Champagne (call it Asti Spumanti).
o.k.
I know I shouldn't .
off subject and all
once , I was also a beer & wine buyer . . .
In civilized countries ( Western Europe ) it is highly illegal to sell a wine not actually from the Champagne District of France , with a label that says "Champagne" .
Why ?
Because France had it written into post-First-World-War treaties , and I assume , post-World-War-Two treaties as well .
White sparkling wine from the Champagne , France , is Champagne .
White sparkling wine from Deutschland ( "Germany" ) is "Sekt or Schaumwein" .
White sparkling wine from Italia is Asti Spumanti .
White sparkling wine from California is . . . white sparkling wine .
Although , in the U.S.A. , there is no respect for those international laws . So you can buy California "Champagne" . The U.S.A. didn't sign those particular provisions . Another reason some Europeans squint at us .
AND ,
At least in the U.S.A. , the enforcement is STRICT over the use of the term "Chianti Classico" .
What the laws are in Europe on the use of the word Chianti , I don't know . What the laws are in the U.S.A. on the use of the word Chianti , I don't know . But , the use of the term "Chianti Classico" , in the U.S.A. , is strictly regulated .
Here in the U.S.A. , a Chianti can be made from most any red grapes ( regulated source , I don't know ) .
But , even here in the "uncivilized" U.S.A. , if it says Chianti Classico , you can depend on , you can bet on , not only where the grapes were grown , and where the wine was made , but also , the RECIPE ! Yes , Chianti Classico has a strictly controlled recipe of what grapes are blended together to make the wine .
Sort of like the strict recipe for the French wine , Chateauneuf du Pape . That is another story filled with not mere decades , but actually hundreds of years of international politics and intrigue .
Happy Trails ,
Raoul Delmare
Marysville Kansas