Is chianti a gross wine?!
Is chianti a gross wine?
The Italian restaurant I serve in serves our house Chianti to every table. People who have never been there before are very willing to try it. but it seems like people who know wines tend to hate it. is this wine disgusting or am i reading this wrong? i'm 19 so I've yet to try it.
Answers: Wine is dependent on so many factors and, yes, there are gross wines whether they be Chianti, which is made from the Italian grape variety known as Sangiovese, or a cabernet sauvignon made by a California producer. It's all in how and where the grapes are grown, the weather, the soil, how the grapes are crushed, how the wine is blended, how and how long it's aged, when/how it's bottled and many other factors.
Chances are the wine your restaurant serves is not gross but different wines appeal to different people. Chianti is a very dry wine by definition (i.e., no residual sugar is left in the wine after fermentation). In addition, there are many Chianti producers that buy their grapes from another grower and make their wine so they don't really know what they're getting that's going into their wine.
If the Chianti at your restaurant is served in a "fiasco" (with the bottle in a basket-looking wrapper encompassing most of the bottle), it is likely a bulk wine produced with grapes from many growers (grapes they probably didn't want for their own wines) and it's probably quite young. This turns some people off. The upside is it's cheap.
But remember, there are many, many more great Chiantis than bad ones and, just like Chianti, any wine can turn out gross if the proper care is not taken in its making. It's a nice wine and goes well with Italian food, Judge it for yourself.... no it's not gross. maybe they serve a cheap one. There's a lot of snobbery about wine. You should go into a liquor store and talk to the owners and see what they say. Well...it depends on what kind of wines you like. Some Chiantis are very, very dry..others are sweeter. I prefer the sweeter versions myself. But it's not a bad wine. I think maybe your house Chianti is pretty dry and people aren't expecting that. Chianti can be a very nice wine. If your restaurant's is not it is because they are buying very cheap Chianti. Like any wine different brands and vintages vary dramatically!
B It is a type of wine - like Pinot Grigio or Merlot. So it really depends on the wine. Usually, with wine the more you spend the better it is. It's a nice dry Italian red wine, but lots of people prefer fruitier stuff like zinfandels, sauvignons, or fruity white wines. It's a matter of personal preference. Also, all these wines come in different qualities/brands... some chiantis are much better than others. You usually get what you pay for. Like all wines, there is good and bad chianti as the name only signifies the area which produces chianti. There are hundreds of producers so it is a bit of a lucky dip! A reputable Italian restaurant would usually have a good chianti to serve as the y want there customers to come back , don't they? Taste in wines is like your taste in men. While you might like one or think he is a hunk, other woman might seem him as a geek. It is the same way with wine. The only way to tell about wine is to experience it. Taste it, smell it, sense it as only you can. A wine tastes different to each individual who drinks it.
In regards to Chianti, I prefer a Chianti Reserva which is generally aged a little longer and tends to have less acidity which I prefer.
When you are of age or have some other legal opportunity I hope that you will experience the varieties of wine that are available. No. Most chiantis are wonderful. They just happen to be common, and a lot of stuffy wine people think it's too "common" to enjoy it. I like Chianti, but you should judge for yourself, however, there are various kinds of Chianti, so I don't know what kind this restaurant is serving. Chianti is a regional wine like Bordeaux and so on (except its Italian and not French obviously) and predominantly but not exclusivly made from Sangiovese grapes. Super Tuscans, which are Chianti by definition, can reach three figure sums - in fact just back from there and saw that one of the cult producers has some older bottles on sale for four figure sums. That being said you can also get bottles of it for 3.99... or even less. When you figure how much the actual glass and shipping cost is it any wonder there are gross ones around.
Whilst I wouldn't suggest we should all drink Sassicia or the like, you do frequently get what you pay for. Up until recently most Chianti in America was pretty gross. Your local Itlaian joint would sell their "house" Chianti in a big old jug and this stuff is pretty gross. Taste like vinegar to me.
However, these days the real and good Chianti has made a come back. In fact there are a lot of good Chianti Classicos on the market now and they come in a real wine bottle never a big old jug.
Get the real and good stuff and leave that nasty stuff that comes in a jug alone. i love a nice chianti from italy. Not some of the domestic american stuff as mentioned above. it is a nice food friendly red. not too dry, not very sweet. it is a staple in italian culture. I also like Sangiovese as well. Chianti can be a very good wine, especially with Italian style dishes. Keep in mind that there are several brands on the market and some are excellent, others are good-very good and then there is the cheap ones that just don't taste that good.
i normally buy a medium priced Chianati and enjoy it very much. Chianti can be a very nice wine. It's more of the table wine sort that is drank around dinner with family. Very popular with traditional Italian families.
It also can be very bad if it is made or stored improperly. Chianti is not an overly sweet wine so most 19 year olds are not going to like it at first taste. It's like scotch in the fact that it grows on you over time.
It pairs really well with veal, sausage, pastas and red sauce. It's not as heavy as a cabernet or shiraz, but can be quite refreshing if you get a nice bottle. Ruffino is the most popular brand of the mass produced Chianti's.
Hurry up and turn 21 so you can enjoy it.
=Dave lets get together and share a jug of manishevitz house chianti just means they got the cheapest, they could find, like 2.99 a bottle. suggest a nice chianti classico reserve to your guests (like castello banfi, or ruffino). people who know wines therefore know better, than to try the house pour.