On the trail of Gallo Nero

The Consorzio Vino Chianti Classico was founded in 1924, which means that next year they will mark their first century. Among the initiatives to celebrate this centennial will be the publication of a book on its history, to which I have been working on ever since we wrapped up our Essential Guide.

On a commission from Consorzio Vino Chianti Classico and the Giunti publishing house, I have been working on - along with Paolo De Cristofaro, with whom I worked for year at Gambero Rosso – a book to celebrate the first 100 years of that consortium, the oldest in Italy, which will come out in March of next year.

The provisional title is On the trail of Gallo Nero and it will tell the story of how the consortium was created, who were the lead players and, basically, how things went over these past 100 years. We are going through old documents, carrying out interviews (especially Paolo) and recalling episodes that have been forgotten. Above all, we are rediscovering people who were true visionary giants in the world of Italian wine, before being Tuscans. At the beginning people like Italo De Lucchi, Gino Sarrocchi. Names that mean little to many now but who were true protagonists on the Italian wine scene many years ago. Then there were others like Baron Luigi Ricasoli Firidolfi, his son Bettino (the father of Francesco Ricasoli) and Lapo Mazzei, the consortium’s historic president from 1974 to 1994.

And there were many other lead players, between producers, politicians and professors. There is also the story of how the Gallo Nero (Black Rooster) marque was chosen, the battle for the recognition of the denomination of origin, along with the historic diatribe between Chianti and Chianti Classico and up to the creation of Gran Selezione and the indication on label of Additional Geographic Units (UGA). It is all a fascinating story, one composed of people, events, natural disasters, like the great frosts of 1956 and 1985, and humanity, with the Second World War (even if many protagonists took part in the Great War).

We went way back to the beginning. The Premise begins with the battle of Montaperti in 1260 and Colle one in 1269, between the Guelfi, headed by the Florentines, and the Ghibedllini, headed by the Sienese. All things considered, what I had to do was recall all my history lessons from university. Those from great professors like the medievalist Paolo Brezzi, Rosario Romeo, with whom I studied modern history, and Renzo De Felice, for politics. Some episodes were quite exciting, like the great 1957 duel at the Accademia dei Georgofili between Professor Giovanni Dalmasso and Baron Luigi Ricasoli Firidolfi, the then-president of the Consorzio which was almost epic and would make a great stage play. But there were others, too. We are currently finalizing the text and the book, as I said before, will be presented in March 2024, to coincide with the Centennial celebrations, and will also be available in bookstores. I hope you will like it as much as we are enjoying writing it.