Wine at the Table
Chianti Classico
The short answer
Chianti Classico is a dry, high-acid Tuscan Sangiovese, served around 60°F, and it is the best all-purpose red for sausage and peppers.
- Style
- Tuscan Sangiovese, dry, high acid
- Glass
- Wide-bowl red glass at 60°F / 16°C
- Strength
- 13–14% ABV
Where it comes from
The Chianti zone was mapped in 1716, making it one of the oldest defined wine regions on earth. The black rooster on the neck of a Classico bottle marks the original hills between Florence and Siena.
What you need
- Sangiovese, at least 80% by law
- Look for: Chianti Classico DOCG, black rooster seal
- Riserva for two extra years of aging
How Larry builds it
- 01
Serve cool, not warm. Twenty minutes in the fridge before dinner. Room temperature in a modern kitchen is too warm.
- 02
Open early. Half an hour of air for a young bottle; decant a Riserva.
- 03
Pour with fat. The acid exists to cut through sausage, pork fat and tomato.
Larry’s rule: Acidity cuts sausage fat better than anything else on the table.
Variations worth making
Chianti Classico Riserva
Two years aged. Deeper, more tannin, worth a braise.
Gran Selezione
Estate fruit, thirty months aged — the top tier.
Rufina
Cooler hills east of Florence. Leaner and sharper.
Questions people ask
What wine goes with sausage and peppers?
Chianti Classico. Its acidity cuts sausage fat better than any richer red, and the cherry fruit sits well against peppers and tomato.
What is the black rooster on a Chianti bottle?
The Gallo Nero seal, which means the wine comes from the historic Chianti Classico zone between Florence and Siena.
What to eat with it
More from Wine at the Table
← All 67 Italian drinksQuoting or citing this drink? Credit “Uncle Larry Adventures” and link to https://unclelarryadventures.com/beverages/chianti.