Wine consumers today are a much more sophisticated group than they were a couple of decades ago. Just as they are demanding craft and artisanal foods like grass-fed meats, straight-off-the-boat seafood and farm-fresh produce, savvy wine buyers are not settling for anything but the most carefully crafted products.

And it’s not just quality they’re after. Today’s discerning wine lovers want to know more about a wine’s provenance—the place it comes from—rather than how many points it was awarded by Robert Parker, as was more important in the past.

European wine regions have been classifying their wines according to place for decades, versus by grape as has been traditionally done in New World wine regions. However, wine producers worldwide, including those within long-standing appellation-designated areas, are realizing the need to provide even more detailed regional information, or risk being left in the dust.

Chianti Classico is now delivering just that. This historical Tuscan wine region, located in the heart of the broader Chianti region but set apart with its own DOCG, is keeping its eye on the pulse of the worldwide consumer market with the creation of a new, more specific classification system for its high-quality offerings.

Unification By Division

The classification, created in 2021, refers to UGAs which stands for Unità Geografiche Aggiuntive, or Additional Geographical Units. Starting with the 2021 vintage of its Gran Selezione wines (on sale in 2024), Chianti Classico’s front labels will specify the village the wine comes from.

Although the area’s rolling hills had been divided into nine communes, no official labeling by commune was allowed—until now, with the creation of the UGAs. The region’s wine consortium is hoping this new way of categorizing and labeling the wines will change the way consumers order their favorite bottles of Chianti Classico.

**Look for The Galo Nero, or red rooster, on every bottle of DOCG Chianti Classico.** *Photo courtesy of Chianti Classico.*

"The phrase ‘The territory makes the difference’ has always been one of our favorite mottos,” says Giovanni Manetti, President of the Chianti Classico consortium and owner of the historic Fontodi wine estate. "Wine reflects the territory like a negative photographic image, and this is why it is so important to preserve its environmental context and landscape and be able to communicate this to the consumer.”

The UGA system divides the region into 11 specific villages: San Casciano, Greve, Montefioralle, Lamole, Panzano, Radda, Gaiole, Castelnuovo Berardenga, Vagliagli, Castellina, and San Donato in Poggio. It is based on climate and soil types, of which the Chianti Classico region has many, as well as historical authenticity, renown, and volume of wine produced.

The idea is the same as in many other distinguished wine regions, like Burgundy, with its AOCs (Appellations d’Origine Contrôlée) and Barolo with its MGAs (Menzione Geografica Aggiuntive), where consumers will be able to learn the nuances—the aromas, the colors, the flavors—of wines coming from each unique area. They will be able to select a specific Chianti Classico by knowing, for example, that Panzano wines tend to be darker colored and more full-bodied than those from Radda.

Gran Selezione Only

As of now, the UGAs will apply only to the Gran Selezione category, the highest tier of Chianti Classico, and whose wines must be made from at least 90% Sangiovese, and aged for a minimum of 30 months.

Chianti Classico’s wine producers hope the UGAs will better communicate their wines’ unique origin and that the new labeling will soon extend beyond the Gran Seleziones to their other wines, the Annatas (the regular vintage wines) and the Riservas.

Dario Faccin, winemaker at Tenuta Carobbio in the Panzano zone is a big fan of the UGA system even though he cannot use it on his labels since he doesn’t produce a wine in the Gran Selezione category.

“I am very sorry that today it is only possible to claim the UGA on the Gran Selezione, which represents only 5% of Chianti Classico’s total production,” says Faccin. “However, I believe the UGAs are an excellent opportunity for this territory which has always expressed great differences in its Chianti Classico wines.”

Getting to Know the UGAs

Learn more about the individual subzone's characteristics here.

A fun way to learn your favorite Chianti Classico UGA is by tasting the wines. To help you get started, below is a list of wines from each UGA, most of which are readily available for purchase. I suggest opening up a few and tasting them side by side. And while it will take more time and more tastings to determine your preferences, it’s a good way to start the process.

Keep in mind that the following wines are not Gran Seleziones, and they were made before the UGA classification went into effect, but they are great representatives of each territory.

Castellina: Rocca delle Macie Chianti Classico Riserva Famiglia Zingarelli 2018

Castelnuovo Berardenga: Tenuta di Arceno Chianti Classico 2019

Gaiole: Rocca di Castagnoli “Poggio a’ Frati” Chianti Classico Riserva 2017

Greve: Querciabella Chianti Classico 2019

Lamole: Lamole di Lamole Chianti Classico Riserva 2017

Montefioralle: Castello di Verrazzano Chianti Classico 2018

Panzano: Fontodi Chianti Classico 2019

Radda: Istine “Vigna Istine” Chianti Classico 2019

San Donato in Poggio: Poggio al Sole Chianti Classico 2019

San Casciano: Luiano Chianti Classico Riserva 2018

Vagliagli: Fattoria della Aiola Chianti Classico Riserva 2017

Many thanks to the Chianti Classico Consortium for hosting me at a dinner in New York City that included the above wines.