Chianti, the area in which Chianti Classico wine has been produced for centuries, is that part of Tuscany that is bordered to the north by the suburbs of Florence, to the east by the Chianti Mountains, to the south by the city of Siena and to the west by the valleys of the Pesa and Elsa rivers.

1716: Chianti wine is born. The territory of Chianti gained such prestige that in 1716 the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Cosimo II, decided to protect its name, establishing the borders of its wine production zone.

The proclamation of 1716 is the first legal document in history delimiting a winemaking area.

This delineation existed until the 1930s when the Italian government expanded the zone. Subsequent expansions throughout the twentieth century would eventually bring the Chianti zone to cover almost all of Tuscany.

The original zone dictated by the edict of Cosimo III de’ Medici would eventually be considered the heart of the Chianti Classico region.

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