The Ricasoli family's wine tradition and Chianti's landscape
The Ricasoli family's wine tradition and Chianti's landscape
Overview of the Chianti region of Tuscany, Italy, with a detailed discussion of its wine production.
Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz
Transcript
NARRATOR: This is one of the most famous landscapes in the world, the original Chianti region, which corresponds almost exactly to the modern-day Chianti Classico wine-producing region. But this pretty countryside once was covered by thick forest and often lay under a cloud of mist. Giovanni Ricasoli-Firidolfi is a descendant of the famous aristocratic Ricasoli family. The family fought very successfully in the Middle Ages for the Medici family against Siena and were generously rewarded with large tracts of land. With a great deal of effort, the landowners managed to cultivate the first grapes on the poor soils and thereby changed the countryside forever.
BARON GIOVANNI RICASOLI-FIRIDOLFI: "Viticulture is the mainstay of this family and it has been for the last 800-900 years. It's a sort of philosophy of life for the Ricasoli family. It's also something of a cultural activity."
NARRATOR: This vineyard is a veritable wine library for the Ricasoli family. It is an archive that ensures the continued existence of the family's very own variety of grapes. The region's traditional grape variety, the Sangiovese, provides Chianti Classico with its heart and soul. Translated, it means the blood of Jupiter. It's a difficult and delicate fruit. It takes a real master to turn it into a splendid wine. Tradition dominates the fermentation cellar of the Ricasoli family's wine company, Cacchiano. These 24-hectoliter barrels have been in use for generations. Likewise, the job of cellar master has been in the same family for generations. For Baron Ricasoli, producing wines is a matter of honor and a personal challenge. The Baron remembers clambering inside the barrels as a boy to scrub the insides. It's very much in the spirit of his great-great-great-grandfather, Bettino Ricasoli, one of Italy's first ever prime ministers and founding father of the modern Chianti wine. For more than 130 years, the Ricasoli family have made authentic Chianti wines using the methods and grape varieties laid down by him.
RICASOLI-FIRIDOLFI: "It's important to me to follow the original Chianti recipe, as it was written down in the middle of the 19th century. And this is one of the most important guiding principles here at Cacchiano."
NARRATOR: For more than 1,000 years, the noble Ricasoli family have dominated the Chianti Classico region. The typical Tuscan landscape we today take for granted has only been formed thanks to the wine and olive oil cultivation.
BARON GIOVANNI RICASOLI-FIRIDOLFI: "Viticulture is the mainstay of this family and it has been for the last 800-900 years. It's a sort of philosophy of life for the Ricasoli family. It's also something of a cultural activity."
NARRATOR: This vineyard is a veritable wine library for the Ricasoli family. It is an archive that ensures the continued existence of the family's very own variety of grapes. The region's traditional grape variety, the Sangiovese, provides Chianti Classico with its heart and soul. Translated, it means the blood of Jupiter. It's a difficult and delicate fruit. It takes a real master to turn it into a splendid wine. Tradition dominates the fermentation cellar of the Ricasoli family's wine company, Cacchiano. These 24-hectoliter barrels have been in use for generations. Likewise, the job of cellar master has been in the same family for generations. For Baron Ricasoli, producing wines is a matter of honor and a personal challenge. The Baron remembers clambering inside the barrels as a boy to scrub the insides. It's very much in the spirit of his great-great-great-grandfather, Bettino Ricasoli, one of Italy's first ever prime ministers and founding father of the modern Chianti wine. For more than 130 years, the Ricasoli family have made authentic Chianti wines using the methods and grape varieties laid down by him.
RICASOLI-FIRIDOLFI: "It's important to me to follow the original Chianti recipe, as it was written down in the middle of the 19th century. And this is one of the most important guiding principles here at Cacchiano."
NARRATOR: For more than 1,000 years, the noble Ricasoli family have dominated the Chianti Classico region. The typical Tuscan landscape we today take for granted has only been formed thanks to the wine and olive oil cultivation.