Do you like Montepulciano? Are you talking about geography or wine?

If you are talking geography, the town of Montepulciano, located in the Tuscany region of Italy, makes beautiful Vino Nobile di Montepulciano wines (locally called Prugnolo Gentile) using Sangiovese grapes.

There are two basic qualities of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano wines. The higher quality is Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) requiring a minimum of 70% of Prugnolo Gentile Sangiovese grapes whose taste is often referred to as combining the elegance of Chianti Classico and the power of Brunello.

The lesser quality wine, but still delicious, is referred to as Rosso di Montepulciano DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata).  More on the four types of classification for Italian wines (DOCG, DOC etc.) to come in a future article.

If you are talking wine, then that’s Montepulciano D’Abruzzo made from the Montepulciano grape in Italy’s central, eastern region of Abruzzo. In central and southern Italy, Abruzzo is the most productive region after Tuscany. In Abruzzo a majority of the wines are produced by co-ops. Most wines in this area are unremarkable and therefore more affordable, however, you can believe that efforts are being made to change that!

Montepulciano, are you talking geography or wine? Confused? Don’t be, if you like the wine then enjoy it. Cheers!

Do you have a question on wine, submit it to us at office@ocws.org

– Linda Flemins, CL Keedy and the Wine Education Committee