Sitting with my friends by a cartoon mural of the leaning tower of Pisa, swallowing another bottle of Chianti at Tony’s pizza parlor, I try not to look at the ceiling. I am always concerned that those Chianti bottles hanging from the ceiling are going to fall down and crash on top of my dome, knocking my face into my plate of spaghetti and meatballs.

I have had this fear since I was a child. When I told my dad about it, he told me that I was crazy, and downed another glass of Chianti as he stared at the giant, black-and-white, bosomy photo of Italian cinema goddess Sophia Loren hanging on the wall. How he dug Chianti and Sophia Loren…

Chianti, that great red stuff that comes in that straw flask bottle. As a kid, how I loved to see Chianti bottles used as candle holders, waxy Christmas trees with the multi-colored drippings of a hundred candles on the red-and-white checkerboard tablecloths – although I was still scared of the slightly swinging empty Chianti bottles above my noggin.

As I got into my teens, I started drinking Chianti. Yes, I confess I started drinking before I was 21. Can I still get arrested for that? I fell in love with Chianti, and eventually worked for an Italian wine importer.

Wine has an incredible history, and the greatest story of all is that of Chianti. The ancient beginnings of civilization, in 8000 BC when men and women tilled the soil for survival and life was brutally short, the Etruscans of Tuscany drank God. Wine is the blood of grapes, and grapes have always been symbolic of the bountiful earth; therefore, wine is the blood of the earth.

Wine for the ancients was mystical. The medium of wine alters perception and helps one transcend from daily life to a greater plateau of existence. Reaching God through wine is a communion with natural forces greater than ourselves, and has always been intrinsic to the old and new religions. Whether it was devotion to the Roman god of wine, Bacchus, or Jesus Christ, wine has always been a metaphor for the blood of divinity.

The ancient Etruscans tilled the soil to grow the grapes, then broke the skin of the grapes by crushing them with their feet. This allowed the native yeast on the grapes to begin the magic of fermentation – turning grape sugar into alcohol – and create a wine known as Sangiovese, the blood of Jupiter.

Today, Sangiovese wines comprise some of the greatest wines in the world, including Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. Sangiovese is grown throughout Italy, but its home is Toscana.

Sangiovese is an extremely versatile grape that imparts nuances of pepper, spice, plum and raspberry with other berry flavors. It can be made into a light, chillable red wine like Chianti, Rosso Piceno and Sangiovese di Romagna; wines that go well with red or white sauces and lightly seasoned fish, fowl or beef. Sangiovese can be made into a medium bodied wine like Chianti Classico, Rosso di Montalcino and Rossi di Montepulciano, which go with the same types of dishes that go well with merlot. Sangiovese can also be made into a big, bad, delicious Godzilla wine like Chianti Classico Riserva, Brunello di Montalcino, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and Tignanello; wines that go with anything that cabernet goes with.

In addition, Sangiovese grapes can be blended with many other grapes: Cabernet sauvignon, merlot and montepulciano add a slightly different flavor profile; canaiolo adds color and alcohol; and the white grape trebbiano adds aromatics and smoothness.

Sangiovese loves oak. It is traditionally aged in giant Slavic oak casks called botti that are so large you could drive a small Toyota truck into one. The trend now, however, is to age Sangiovese in French oak barrels, called barriques, which hold 225 liters.

Some great Sangiovese producers are Badia a Coltibuono, Fontodi, Fattoria di Felsina, Lisini, Santa Restituta, Avignonesi and Poliziano.

P.S. Watch your head at the pizzeria!