Chianti Classico - Successful on the "German Tour"

In June, there was a series of tastings in four German cities, which provided a representative sample of the many styles and the controlled quality of the wines. One seminar with the Italian specialist Steffen Maus was held on the special features of the Chianti Classico parallel to the tastings. A total of about 350 professionals from retail, food service and press took the opportunity and participated in tastings in Düsseldorf, Leipzig, Hamburg and Stuttgart.

Between November 7th and 14th, the nationwide promotion week “Chianti Classico by the glass” allowed consumers to taste a variety of Chianti Classicos by the glass at introductory prices. Therefore, the Consorzio provided seven different Chianti Classico wines and personalized advertising tools for the 30 participating restaurants. In addition, each restaurant was given the opportunity to receive training tailored to the offered wines, so that service could inform guests and recommend wines in a competent manner. The event was also supported by regional advertising and press work.

The partners considered the concept, organization and cooperation all positive. Some of the restaurants extended the event with thematically matched food or annotated menus. The promotion was also well-received among guests; many of them used the rare opportunity to “try everything on the promotion wine list” and to compare the various wines with the Black Rooster. With this wide range of choices, the restaurants were able to provide pleasure not only to their guests, but they could also find out which wines were received very well.

Giuseppe Liberatore, CEO of Consorzio (Foto: CVCC)

Even Giuseppe Liberatore, director of the Consorzio, was very pleased with the numbers of participants and the response to the German Tour 2010: “The positive reactions of visitors and restaurant owners and guests, showed us very clearly that the interest is significant as ever and that the image of the wines from the Chianti Classico has continued to rise among Germans. This encourages us in our activities.”

For the year 2011, the Consortium has also planned activities on the German market. With two events, the Black Rooster will participate in the 15^th Rheingau Gourmet & Wine Festival which takes place from February 24th to March 9th, 2011. On February 28th, the dinner “Harald Wohlfahrt *** and Chianti Classico” will take place. The chef will adapt its 5-course meal to the red wines of the participating wineries from the DOCG region. On March 1st, a total of four Annatas and four reserve wines produced by eight wineries will be served at the “Italian lunch with Anna Sgroi *, and Chianti Classico”.

The Consorzio Vino Chianti Classico will also present itself to professional visitors at ProWein 2011 in Düsseldorf. At the booth H100 in hall 3, over 100 wines from about 60 wineries will be offered for tastings. Seminars on “Panzano and Castellina” held by Steffen Maus will also be offered. And for the first time, there will also be seminars held in English on “Chianti Classico and Sangiovese”.

Sangiovese grapes for the production of Chianti (Photo: sherseydc)

About Chianti Classico

Tuscany is a region well-known for its great wines, in which the Chianti Classico is at the top because of its tradition, reputation and quality. The boundary of the production area between Florence and Siena for Chianti Classico wine has already been set by ministerial decree in 1932 and has remained unchanged since.

The Chianti Classico was awarded the designation DOCG (controlled and guaranteed origin), the highest recognition level for Italian quality wines, in 1984. Today, the Consorzio Vino Chianti Classico, the protective association, founded in 1924, consists of nearly 600 producers on 7,200 hectares. The main grape variety of the Chianti Classico is Sangiovese, originally a red grape variety native in central Italy. In addition, in order to produce Chianti Classico, winemakers can also use other authorized red varieties in a maximum percentage of 20%.

The wines are available in two versions on the market: as a normal vintage wine (Annata) and as a Riserva. All Chianti Classico wines bear the Black Rooster as a unique identifier on the bottle neck. (red.yoopress)