The Wine Club · Grape Discovery Masterclass

Montepulciano

Italy's most mispronounced grape. And one of its bestAbruzzo, Italy · Medieval — documented in Abruzzo since the 18th century, unrelated to the Tuscan town of the same name

The Origin Story

The confusion starts with the name. Vino Nobile di Montepulciano — one of Tuscany's most celebrated wines — is made from Sangiovese, not Montepulciano. The town and the grape share a name and nothing else, and the mix-up has followed Montepulciano d'Abruzzo for its entire modern history, either stealing its thunder or sending curious drinkers in entirely the wrong direction.

It is one of wine's more persistent injustices. Montepulciano is Abruzzo's grape — grown in the rugged central Italian region that runs from the Apennine mountains to the Adriatic coast, shaped by altitude, continental temperatures, and soils that push the vine toward concentration and structure. It has been documented there since at least the 18th century, though its roots almost certainly go deeper. For most of that history it was the everyday red of the region — dark, generous, and unpretentious, the wine that Abruzzese families made for themselves rather than for export.

The outside world eventually noticed, drawn by a combination of genuine quality and extraordinary value. Montepulciano d'Abruzzo consistently delivers more than its price suggests — dark fruit, firm tannins, high natural acidity, and a structure that allows serious examples to age for a decade or more. It is not a grape that performs for critics. It simply makes very good wine, reliably, at a price that makes it one of Italy's most honest overachievers.

Tasting Profile

BodyFullAcidityHigh

Black CherryBlackberryDried PlumIronBlack PepperBitter Cocoa

Montepulciano d'Abruzzo produces full-bodied reds of impressive depth and consistency — black cherry and blackberry fruit, a streak of iron minerality from Abruzzo's mountain soils, firm tannins that soften with food, and a finish of bitter cocoa and black pepper that lingers longer than the price suggests it should.

The acidity is high and persistent, which makes it one of the most food-aggressive reds in the Italian portfolio — it cuts through richness, lifts heavy sauces, and keeps the palate fresh across a long meal. This is not a subtle grape, but it is an honest one. At its best it delivers the kind of satisfaction that more celebrated Italian reds charge three times as much to provide.

In Comparison

If you like

Merlot

Plush, dark-fruited, and approachable — but capable of extraordinary depth and complexity when taken seriously. The dismissal after Sideways was one of wine's great over corrections..

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Try

Montepulciano

Dark cherry, plum, and dried herbs with more acidity and character than Merlot typically delivers. Generous and structured in equal measure.

This is your pork adobo wine. The high acidity mirrors the vinegar, the dark fruit matches the soy, and the tannins give the fat something to grip. Also brilliant with slow-braised pork ribs, pizza, and anything tomato-based.

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