photographing colorful vineyard patterns in the Chianti area of Tuscany
The English word pattern is difficult to translate into other languages. It depends on the context in which it is used. In photographic terms, possible Italian translations are: motivo, struttura, ripetizione. But none of them has the power and the essence nature of the English word. So, please, go with pattern in Italian too!
Having photographed the Tuscan landscape for 35 years, I can say that the waves of clay in the Crete Senesi and the vineyards of Chianti are the best subjects for photographing patterns here in Tuscany. Especially in autumn, the Chianti area offers great photographic opportunities. The use of four different grape varieties (Sangiovese, Canaiolo, Malvasia, Trebbiano) has a strong color effect in the Chianti autumn landscape. The palette of yellows, reds, browns and rusts streaks and brightens the rows of vines, especially when photographed with the sun low and against the light.
Today the Chianti hills are covered with vineyards. They are generally large, specialised plantations. However, even with this type of intensive land use, the natural morphology of the hills is always respected and protected in a harmonious way.
The vineyards are planted in the "rittochino" system, which follows the steepest slopes of the land, or in the "giropoggo" system, where the vines cling to the hillside like a tight dress, or in the "cavalcapoggio" system, forming veritable waves of vegetation.
To rediscover the bucolic landscape of the old Chianti, a legacy of the sharecropping system, it is necessary to travel through some areas of Gaiole and above all to the heights of Greve, in the Lamole area, where the historic rural landscape of Chianti is protected.
The best way to photograph the patterns of the Chianti vineyards is to find a hilly spot above the rows of vines. If this is not possible, you can use a drone or a small staircase, which allows you to control the perspective in a minimal but crucial way.
