CHIANTI CLASSICO FESTMUSIC, ART, THEATRE, WINE AND A STAGE UNIQUE IN THE WORLD: THE LAND OF THE BLACK ROOSTER
The summer of 2025 of Chianti Classico FEST, from July to September, featured a rich program of events organized around four main themes: Art, Music, Theatre and Wine.
Chianti Classico FEST is a project dedicated to the promotion of Chianti Classico DOP wine and olive oil, funded by the European Union and made possible thanks to the valuable collaboration of the municipalities of the territory, which organize a variety of cultural and artistic events.
ART
The creation of a great wine is like a work of art: a virtuous synthesis between nature and human ingenuity. From this premise was born the project A(rt) Message in a (Chianti Classico) Bottle, the collective exhibition organized by the Chianti Classico Wine Consortium, spread among the vineyards of the Black Rooster territory. Within this project, large wine bottles are transformed into unique works through the intervention of different artists who have participated over the years.
For the fifth edition of the exhibition, the Consortium had the honor of developing the project in collaboration with the Florence Academy of Fine Arts.
In 2025, the seven works displayed throughout the territory were created by young artists who are students of the Academy. The artists—Aurora Beltramini, Marcela Castaneda Florian, Alice Fantoni, Marta Lazzaroni, Francesca Morabito, Giada Muzzi and Andrea Pagliuca—were selected by a joint committee composed of representatives from the Consortium, the Academy, and the project curator Francesco Bruni.
Each artist began with a three-meter-high monolithic Bordeaux-style bottle, transforming it into a unique work through their artistic vision.
Through painting, sculpture, graphic arts and craftsmanship, the artists fully embraced the spirit of the project, creating seven works of strong visual impact. Their creations contain poetic references to the territory and clear messages inviting reflection on the role of people in the changes currently taking place, transforming the “bottle” into a messenger of powerful and meaningful new ideas.
The works, displayed during the season among the hills and vineyards of the Black Rooster territory, were later adopted in autumn by member wineries of the Consortium, thus contributing to a permanent open-air exhibition. Each work is also equipped with a QR code, inviting visitors to discover the other art collections already present in Chianti Classico wineries.
MUSIC
Everything was also ready for one of the new proposals of the 10th edition of the Chigiana International Festival & Summer Academy: the Chigiana Chianti Classico Experience, a series of five events combining music and wine, organized in collaboration with the Accademia Musicale Chigiana. Within this program, the Academy’s young musicians performed in selected wineries of the Black Rooster territory.
This musical journey combines classical chamber repertoire with the Tuscan food and wine tradition, featuring talented students from the Chigiana Academy’s Advanced Musical Training Courses, performing at sunset.
THEATRE
For this artistic expression, an original format was created to celebrate more than 300 years of Chianti Classico, with a title that immediately recalls the Black Rooster emblem: Dalmillesettecentosedici (“Since 1716”).
Created by the Consortium, this format offers the public one hour of theatre, music, wine and gastronomic pairings, hosted by food and wine journalist Leonardo Romanelli and Dimitri Frosali, a Florentine actor. Together they interpreted famous literary texts from 1700 to the present day, accompanied by live music from the same historical periods.
The result was an engaging and emotional storytelling experience combined with tastings of Chianti Classico wine and Chianti Classico DOP olive oil.
To make the format accessible to the many international visitors present in the Black Rooster territory during the summer, QR codes provide access to an English audio translation of the text performed on stage.
If bottles bearing the Black Rooster accompanied all the events listed above—with dedicated tasting moments—they were also naturally present at the territory’s main traditional wine events, well known to enthusiasts and wine tourists. These include:
- Terre di Gaiole (Gaiole, June 21)
- EXPO Chianti Classico (Greve in Chianti, September 11–15)
- Vino al Vino (Panzano, September 19–21)
- Montefioralle Divino (Montefioralle, September 26–28)
- Sorsi di Vagliagli (Vagliagli, September 20)
- Radda nel Bicchiere (Radda in Chianti, May 24–25)
- Profumi di Lamole (Lamole, June 1–2)
- Castelnuovino (Castelnuovo Berardenga, June 2)
- Bevo Castellina (Castellina in Chianti, June 7–8)
In addition to the events directly organized by the Consortium, cultural initiatives promoted by local municipalities and associations enrich the summer calendar with over 150 events dedicated to Art, Music, Theatre and Wine across the Black Rooster territory.
All events can be consulted on the website chianticlassico.com.