Chianti is probably Italy's best-known wine. There was a time, not so long ago, that the wicker-covered 'fiasco' was ubiquitous - every Italian restaurant put one on every table as a candle holder. As anyone who ever tried some of this can attest, the liquid in those bottles was a very variable thing.

The history of wine-making in the Chianti is long, stretching back to the pre-Roman era. Although the Tuscan countryside is breathtakingly beautiful, the land is poor and unyielding. By one of those strange quirks of nature that very poverty of soil is what vines and olive trees like best. The deep-rooted vines grow deep down into the sub-soil to find the minerals and trace elements that give the grape its particular quality. Consequently Tuscany, through force majeur, has always been a centre for the production of wine and olive oil.

What gave Chianti its reputation, which began in earnest in the sixteenth century, was the development of a method of vinification called 'governo'. After the first fermentation is complete, a must made from semi-dried grapes (about 10% of the crop picked before the main harvest) is added, which begins a secondary fermentation. This process makes a smooth, well-rounded young wine, a characteristic that couldn't otherwise be obtained except by long cask ageing. It's a labour-intensive process and modern oenological techniques have largely replaced it in all but the most traditional wineries.

The area defined as 'Chianti' is huge and runs across Northern Tuscany in a banana shape from Pisa on the West coast, inland to Perugia on Lake Trasimeno. With such a range of terroirs and a multitude of producers, Chianti was very variable and in the last century began to lose much of its reputation. The more serious growers formed consortia to better protect their name and business. The best-known of these is the Black Rooster of the Chianti Classico zone, its emblem a crowing cockerel which is affixed to the neck of the bottle. A 'riserva' will have been aged for three years in the wood.

Apart from the 'Gallo Nero' there is 'Chianti Putto', a consortium that has as its emblem a cherub, and 'Chianti Rufina', which in the view of many is a better-balanced wine than the Classico variety. But what all the consortia have in common is a set of regulations that define their wine. All Chiantis are made from a mix of grape varieties, the rough proportions being 70% Sangiovese, 10-15% Canaiolo, 10-15% Trebbiano and Malvasia (both white grapes) and up to 5% Colorino may be added to deepen the colour. Recently there has been experimentation in replacing the Trebbiano with Cabernet Sauvignon with encouraging results.

Some of the best and best-known Chiantis come from the estates of the landed Tuscan aristocracy, the most obvious of these being Castello di Brolio of the Ricasoli family. Others include the estates of Frescobaldi at Nipozzano, Contini Bonacossi at Villa Capezzana, Guicciardini at Castello di Poppiano, Savoia at Fattoria il Borro and Giuntini at Villa Selvapiana.

Wine of the Week

Chianti Rufina 1998 Selvapiana

The estate is owned by Franceso Giuntini and the consultant oenologist is Franco Bernabei, a man who has put his mark on Tuscan wine production. A big, smooth red with the character of a real Chianti and one that can age if allowed.

Available from Karwig's of Carrigaline and Molloy's off-licenses, RRP £10.95