Friday, April 5, 2013

Grape Varietal Report - Sangiovese


The Sangiovese grape is a red Italian wine grape variety. It gets its name from the latin words sanguis Jovis, which means “the blood of Jove”. It is most notably grown in the Tuscany region in Italy.
Italian wine regions
Tuscany, in green, where Sangiovese is grown

 It is most famous for its use in the Chianti wine blends. It is also used in Carmignano, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, and Morellino di Scansano blends. It can be used to make varietal wines such as Burnello di Montalcino, Rosso di Montalcino, or Sangiovese di Romagna.
            Its flavor profile significantly consists of fruity flavors, especially strawberry and a slightly spiciness. Other fruits used to describe wines with Sangiovese would be black cherries, red plums, and blueberries. It also can have a few floral notes, especially violet. The spiciness of Sangiovese can also sometimes be described as a cinnamon smell. Although, when the wine is aged in oak barrels, it can be described as oaky or even tarry if in the barrel for too long or simply not in the barrel correctly. It is very prone to being overwhelmed by other flavors.
            Sangiovese wines are generally best consumed within two to four years of its harvest.
            Sangiovese is grown world-wide, but as mentioned earlier; it is most notably grown in Italy, especially in the Tuscany region. It can be found in other areas of Italy such as the Romagna region. It is also notably grown in the United States, Australia, South and Central America, and some parts of South Africa as well.
It can be grown all over the world due to its viticulture. It is adaptable to many types of soil, but seems to do best in soils with a high concentration of limestone. Although, in the Chianti region, Sangiovese thrives on the highly friable shale-clay soil known as galestro.
            This grape also requires a sufficient amount of warmth to ripen fully so it needs to be in areas that stay warmer for longer periods of time, which is why most of the areas that grow Sangiovese have long summers. Although, these grapes are very prone to rot if in the sun too long. Also, due to the grape’s thin skin, it is also prone to rot in the middle part of autumn with a lot of rainfall.  
Sangiovese on the vine
  
Sangiovese has a lot of clonal variations. At least fourteen different variations exist today.
            The sangiovese grape is also very prone to overproduction due to its vigorous growing along the vine. Although, if you decide to try and curb this by planting vines in high densities to stop this, the vines will actually block the sunlight and the grapes won’t get enough light. The ideal yield for Sangiovese grapes is 3 pounds of fruit per vine. 
Sangiovese foliage

            A problem Sangiovese also has is that if it has a high-yielding vine, the wine tends to be lighter, highly acidic, but with less alcohol. This causes the wine to easily oxidize prematurely which also results in a lower concentration of tannins and anti-oxidants. Ideally with Sangiovese you want to keep a “smaller” amount of plants because of the way it vigorously grows.
            Sangiovese accounts for approximately 10% of all vineyard plantings in Italy, with more than 100,000 hectares of clonal variations. Tuscany has over 63,000 hectares of Sangiovese currently. Argentina has 2,800 hectares, Romania has 1,700 hectares, Corsica region in France has 1,663 hectares, and California has 1,371 hectares and Australia with 1,087 hectares. All in all, Sangiovese is grown mainly in Italy and is the pride and joy of the Tuscany region, where they also make Chianti wine out of the Sangiovese grape.
            Chianti wine is a stout bottle that’s in a straw basket and is made out of the Sangiovese grape, or at least 70%. These wines were the general basis idea that jug wines came from. Now days, Chianti wine is bottled in just regular bottles.
            Due to its flavor profile, Sangiovese should be paired with rare steaks, roasted game birds, rich chicken, mushroom dishes, or anything with tomato sauce. It’s vibrant acidity and substantial tannins really help bring out the flavors in these foods. These foods also help bring out the cherry taste and herbal scents in the wine. One of the most notable pairings as well would be a bottle of Chianti with a plate of spaghetti. 
Banfi Chianti Classico Riserva 2008

Although, this is not always the best pairing for Sangiovese grapes because sometimes the tomato can clash with the acidity of the grape. To be on the safe side, pair with red meats, wild game, and roasted vegetables with herbs.
            In Tuscany, Sangiovese is the only grape variety that is permitted in the Brunello di Montalcino DOCG. Furthermore, in Italy most “wine snobs” also consider Sangiovese to be the prominent grape necessary for Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. The Italians take the Sangiovese grape very seriously. 

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1 comment:

  1. Grapes are my favorite fruit and I get to eat every variety possible. Wine is not allowed in our religion so I can only eat them and enjoy it. Thanks for sharing the informatics post.

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