Discover Organic Chianti DOCG Wines
Explore our selection of certified organic Chianti DOCG wines from Tuscany's historic heartland. These wines showcase the noble Sangiovese grape variety through sustainable, organic viticulture practices that honour centuries of Tuscan winemaking tradition whilst expressing the authentic character of this celebrated Italian wine region.
Chianti DOCG: Tuscany's Historic Wine Region
Chianti is one of Italy's most renowned wine regions, situated in the rolling hills of central Tuscany between Florence and Siena. The Chianti DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) designation represents Italy's highest quality classification, ensuring strict production standards and authentic regional character. The region's winemaking heritage dates back to the 13th century, with the modern Chianti zone formally defined in 1716, making it one of the world's oldest legally defined wine regions.
The Chianti DOCG encompasses diverse sub-zones, each offering distinctive terroir expressions. The landscape is characterised by picturesque hills ranging from 150 to 600 metres elevation, medieval villages and historic estates, extensive vineyard plantings interspersed with olive groves and forests, and a patchwork of soil types that contribute complexity to the wines.
Tuscan Climate & Terroir
Chianti's Mediterranean climate provides ideal conditions for both viticulture and organic farming practices. The region benefits from warm to hot summers with abundant sunshine, mild winters with moderate rainfall, significant diurnal temperature variation—warm days and cool nights that preserve acidity and aromatics, and cooling influences from the Apennine Mountains and maritime breezes from the Tyrrhenian Sea.
The diverse soils of Chianti are fundamental to the region's wine character. The two predominant soil types are galestro—a friable, scaly schist rich in minerals that provides excellent drainage and imparts distinctive minerality—and alberese—a harder limestone-marl that retains moisture and contributes structure and longevity to the wines. This soil diversity, combined with varying elevations and exposures, creates a mosaic of microclimates that allow for exceptional terroir expression.
Sangiovese: The Heart of Chianti
Chianti DOCG wines must contain a minimum of 80% Sangiovese, Tuscany's noble indigenous grape variety. Sangiovese is a late-ripening variety that thrives in Chianti's warm climate and well-drained soils, producing wines with distinctive character and excellent ageing potential. The variety's name derives from 'Sanguis Jovis' (blood of Jove), reflecting its ancient heritage and esteemed status in Italian viticulture.
Sangiovese produces wines characterised by bright ruby to garnet colour, vibrant acidity that provides freshness and food compatibility, firm but refined tannins that soften with age, and complex aromatics of red cherry, plum, dried herbs, leather, and earthy notes. The variety's naturally high acidity and moderate alcohol make it exceptionally food-friendly, perfectly suited to Tuscan cuisine.
Organic Viticulture in Chianti
Organic wine production in Chianti represents a return to traditional Tuscan farming methods that predate modern chemical agriculture. The region's Mediterranean climate, with its dry summers and moderate disease pressure, is particularly well-suited to organic viticulture. Organic practices in Chianti include elimination of synthetic pesticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilisers, use of natural compost and green manure to enhance soil fertility, cover crops between vine rows to prevent erosion and increase biodiversity, biological pest management using beneficial insects and natural preparations, and manual canopy management and selective hand-harvesting.
Producers like Poggiotondo have embraced organic certification, demonstrating that sustainable practices enhance rather than compromise wine quality. Organic viticulture in Chianti's ancient soils promotes deeper root systems, encourages natural vine balance and disease resistance, preserves soil microbiome and biodiversity, and produces grapes with concentrated flavours and authentic terroir expression.
Chianti DOCG Production Standards
Chianti DOCG regulations ensure quality and authenticity through strict requirements: minimum 80% Sangiovese with up to 20% complementary varieties (traditionally Canaiolo and Colorino, or international varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot), minimum ageing requirements before release, maximum yields to ensure concentration, and specific vineyard practices and winemaking techniques. These regulations, combined with organic certification standards, ensure wines of exceptional quality and regional typicity.
Tasting Profile & Characteristics
Organic Chianti DOCG wines display ruby to garnet colour with orange hues developing with age, aromatic complexity of red cherry, plum, violet, dried herbs (oregano, thyme), leather, and earthy notes, medium to full body with vibrant acidity, firm but elegant tannins that integrate beautifully with age, and a savoury, persistent finish with mineral undertones. The purity of organic fruit expression allows the distinctive Chianti terroir—the combination of galestro and alberese soils, Mediterranean climate, and Sangiovese character—to shine through with exceptional clarity.
Food Pairing & Serving
Chianti's high acidity and savoury character make it one of the world's most versatile food wines. Traditional pairings include Tuscan specialities such as bistecca alla fiorentina (grilled T-bone steak), wild boar ragu and game dishes, ribollita and bean-based soups, aged Pecorino Toscano and Parmigiano-Reggiano, and tomato-based pasta dishes. The wine's acidity cuts through rich, fatty foods whilst its tannins complement protein-rich dishes.
Serve Chianti DOCG at 16-18°C in large-bowled glasses that allow the wine's complex aromatics to develop. Young Chianti offers immediate drinking pleasure with bright fruit and refreshing acidity, whilst wines with several years of age develop greater complexity, softer tannins, and tertiary notes of leather, tobacco, and dried fruit.
We offer great value on certified organic Chianti DOCG from Tuscany's finest producers, showcasing authentic Italian winemaking tradition through sustainable viticulture, delivered across Australia.
