On Sept. 24, 1716, the Grand Duke of Tuscany Cosimo III de’ Medici officially delineated the borders of the Chianti wine region. Which basically makes him a personal favorite and a hero. Him and Barone Ricasoli, of course. Cosimo had quality control teams patrolling the vineyards in the area and made sure that no other wine outside this blessed realm could be called Chianti, ever again. A predecessor to what would become the modern Denominazione d’Origine Controllata (DOC) and DOCG wine labelling system, the Grand Duke’s act was the first of its kind in Europe. Genius.
300 years later, thehappyfew couldn’t have missed the celebrations.
On September 24, 2016, there was only one place to be. #thehappyfewescape: Chianti farm and Sangiovese harvest, plus the official and unofficial local gatherings with the best food ever-created-that-nobody-tells-you-about. As for the drinks, well, there are the endless variations of Chianti from the local producers. Good excuses for countless glasses, from astronomy to cycling – as you can see here: http://www.chianticlassico.com/en/events-calendar/
How we celebrated:
Castelo di Brolio, birthplace of Chianti Classico
Montefiorale Divino: Tasting of wines produced by the Associazione Viticoltori di Montefioralle. 24-25 September Greve in Chianti, Montefioralle
Bentornato, Bacco: Harvest festival. 23-25 September, Tavarnelle Val di Pesa, San Donato in Poggio
And since the Slow Travel Fest was taking place in our beloved neIghborhood, we also went chasing stars and dancing at midnight in Abbadia Isola
GOOD TO KNOW: thehappyfew escape is a recurring event. Read our #Tuscandiary and about grape harvest in Tuscany here and follow on facebook for next vendemmia event.
