Perhaps not everyone knows that the Chianti Classico territory is divided into11 specific areas called Additional Geographical Units, for short with the acronym UGA. The split has been implemented since June 2021, in agreement to the modification of the deliberate production specification by the Members’ Assembly in June of the same year.
The UGAs arise from the grouping of the types of soil present in the area in which Chianti Classico is produced based on their affinities from the point of winery view. They can be seen as districts that certify the area of origin of the grapes, but do not imply any classification or qualitative aspect.
In geographical order the UGAs are: San Casciano, Greve, Montefioralle, Lamole, Panzano, Radda, Gaiole, Castelnuovo Berardenga, Vagliagli, Castellina, San Donato in Poggio.
Some of them (Castellina, Gaiole, Radda and San Casciano) coincide with the municipal territories that are part of the Chianti Classico territory, while others (Greve, Lamole, Montefioralle, Panzano, Castelnuovo Berardenga and Vagliagli) derive from the subdivision of the municipal territoriesin more specific areas.
San Donato in Poggio, on the contrary, was born from the merger of BarberinoTavarnelle and a tiny portion of Poggibonsi. Amount, Montefioralle and Vagliagli, although already delimited in the proposal modification of the specifications, will only be active at a later stage.
The use of UGA is not mandatory on the label and, unlike the sub-areas, no possibility is provided for in current legislation restrictive indications relating to both physico-chemical and organoleptic. A Chianti Classico Gran Selezione that indicates the name of a UGA on the label can contain up to 15% of another UGA, as well as established by the European law on designations of origin.
