When Chianti is more than a flask-shaped bottle in a wicker basket

CHIANTI is to Italy what Bordeaux is to France - its best known and most widely drunk wine.

Its first appearance locally in the mid-60s was in the form of the familiar flask-shaped bottles in wicker-baskets. Unfortunately, at the time, its taste was not well understood, as it stood in rather unequal competition against the well-established French Bordeaux.

Besides, at that time, its quality was not well-regulated, and this made for poor comparison when pitted against the ubiquitous Bordeaux.