Radda
When you move about within a wine territory, or explore it through images, it’s more important to have precise geographical references that allow you to understand where you are at a glance than knowing the exact position of the cardinal points (north, south, east, west). And Radda in Chianti, as well as Poggio La Croce, are two such reference points. But not only.
Radda and the ridge on which it lies represent a veritable watershed located almost at the center of the denomination: on one side is the Pesa stream, whose waters flow toward the north, and on the other side is the Arbia river and its tributaries, whose waters flow toward the south.
This same ridge helps us to orient ourselves within the Radda UGA. At the center is the unmistakable basin of vineyards between the town of Radda in Chianti and the area of Bereto, while on the right we have the Val di Pesa, which originates here and after a first stretch in an east-west direction, between Albola, Volpaia and Castelvecchi, rotates decisively toward Lucarelli and then toward the northern border of the commune. Moving our observation point by a few hundred meters, and especially gaining a little more altitude, we obtain an image apparently very similar to the previous one. In reality, this image allows us to identify the initial part of the area, which begins between Malpensata and San Giusto in Salcio and ends, following the course of the Rigo stream, in the Val d’Arbia where, as we can see, vines are more sporadic than in previous areas. The only exception is in part of the area between Poci, Livernano and La Badiola, the latter bordering on the Castellina UGA.
How to use
As simple and intuitive as the use of panoramic images may be, some clarifications and suggestions seem in order.
- The expression Unità Geografica Aggiuntiva (UGA) applies to a specific and precisely delimited area within the Chianti Classico denomination. Some UGAs correspond to an entire commune, others to a portion of one, others result from the unification of parts of two communes.
- When a UGA corresponds to the area of a single commune, the name of the UGA has been shortened (San Casciano in Val di Pesa becomes simply San Casciano) or the use of the specification “in Chianti” has been avoided to avert useless repetitions on wine labels. Gaiole in Chianti becomes Gaiole, and Panzano in Chianti, which is not a commune, becomes Panzano. The names of Castelnuovo Berardenga, a commune, and San Donato in Poggio, which like Panzano is not a commune but a hamlet, remain unchanged.
- At the moment the use of UGA is foreseen only for Chianti Classico Gran Selezione wines.
- Coming now to the introductions to each UGA, the greater or lesser number of images used in the virtual tours depends on the overall shape and size of their territories. Some can be illustrated with few images and others require more detail. It follows that the different number of images in no way implies a difference in importance of one UGA with respect to another.
- To navigate between the different images within each tour, use the thumbnails below, above the command bar. To rotate the images to the right or left, drag them with the mouse or with your fingers, if you are using a phone or a tablet.
- In each image you will find names that identify geographical references and/or toponyms. Use them to orient yourself as you move from one panorama to another.
The colors used for the different names have three different functions. In white are the names of farms and villages within the Chianti Classico DOCG. In red are the names of communes, hamlets, mountains and hillocks within the same borders. In blue are the names of places located outside the territory of Chianti Classico DOCG. Some of them, such as mountains and hills, have been inserted to contextualize Chianti Classico with respect to other areas of Tuscany that many users will already know. - The recognized UGAs within the production zone of the Chianti Classico appellation are eleven. Starting from northwest and, moving generally clockwise, they are: San Casciano, Greve, Lamole, Montefioralle, Panzano, Radda, Gaiole, Castelnuovo Berardenga, Vagliagli, Castellina and San Donato in Poggio.
