Chianti question - newbie here

[Thomas]

Tiny ham, yes, all Chianti is red; yes, they are produced from sangiovese grapes, but that is part of a blend of other grapes that are allowed by Italian wine regulations to go into Chianti.

As to Chianti being "some of Italy's most pedestrian wines," perhaps, but that depends on one's point of view, which unfortunately isn't always an informed point of view but rather a biased outlook on wine.

Chianti is but one of hundreds of Italian wine regions (and thousands of Italian wines) that have merit and that have problems. The only way to really understand such a large concept as Italian wine is to explore it by consuming wines from as many regions as you can, deciding which are the ones you like best, and going on from there. Accepting an opinion as fact is not the best way to learn about anything, let alone the wide subject of Italian wine.