Grape Vari­ety: Montepulciano

Geog­ra­phy: Cen­tral Italy.

Viti­cul­ture: Grown in the Tus­can hills, south of the area where San­giovese predominates.

Varietal/Blend: Fre­quently blended with Sangiovese.

Fla­vor & Char­ac­ter: Fla­vors range from apple fresh to plum rich.

Vini­fi­ca­tion: As for San­giovese: Short fer­men­ta­tion period for Chi­anti (3 days). May be matured with or with­out oak.

Style: Gen­er­ally, rich, gutsy style, some­times coarse tasting.

Body, Dry/Sweet: Fairly sim­ple and full-bodied.

Notes: Made famous by Mon­tepul­ciano d’Abruzzo.