The Chianti Classico Massive Online Open Course is aimed at sommeliers, wine professionals, journalists and wine enthusiasts.
Anyone can sign up for the course, which is divided into five modules consisting of short and engaging videos.
Leading experts have provided these video lessons, including Decanter contributor Michaela Morris, Michael Godel, Alessandro Masnaghetti, Jeff Porter, Gabriele Gorelli MW and Leonardo Romanelli.
After watching the videos, users will take a short final test. If you successfully complete it, you will receive an official certificate from the Consorzi Vino e Olio Chianti Classico, attesting to your newly acquired knowledge.
The consortium received EU funding to create the online course, which forms part of a three-year project designed to educate the world about the myriad wonders of Chianti Classico.
‘This platform is intended to be a kind of concise compendium of the Chianti Classico wine and olive oil denominations,’ said Giovanni Manetti, president of the Consorzio Vino Chianti Classico. ‘It’s a key tool for shared communication, a business card for the whole region.’
The Chianti Classico Consorzio is the oldest wine consortium in Italy, having celebrated its 100th anniversary earlier this year. It now represents approximately 500 wineries.
Chianti Classico covers the historical heartland of the region, which lies between Florence and Siena in Tuscany.
Producers in the Chianti Classico DOCG must adhere to stricter ageing and blending requirements than their counterparts in the larger, neighbouring Chianti DOCG, and they have a reputation for releasing complex, structured, ageworthy wines.
Manetti said that winemakers have noticed ‘a daily increase in the thirst for a greater understanding’ of the region’s wines and olive oils. ‘That’s why the Consorzio’s efforts have been focused for years on training, first and foremost of those in the industry, but also wine enthusiasts,’ he added.
