Chianti wines

From Chicago Tribune:

"Italian wines still make me nervous, with all of the country's regions and subregions; the plethora of hard-to-pronounce grape names; inconsistent labeling, with some wines named for the region, others for the grape.

"Chianti can reflect the essence of Tuscan wine". Chianti is a region in central Tuscany, roughly from Florence to Siena. Chianti Classico is an area in the central part of the Chianti region; its wines are generally considered to be superior.

To be called Chianti, the wine has to be a blend of grapes with at least 75 percent sangiovese. Traditionally, other indigenous grapes were blended with the sangiovese.

References:
The essence of Tuscany. Chicago Tribune, 10/2010.