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| Montepulciano - the town |
Anyone who's at all familiar with sampling Italian wines knows that figuring out the nomenclature can be a very frustrating, confusing and baffling experience. The particular "denominazione", or classification, may be named after the grape, the region, town, municipality or arise from some esoteric origin lost among the ruins of the Roman, Etruscan or Barbaric epochs. No case perhaps represents this enigma better than that of Montepulciano, which incorporates a grape varietal, a town and a style of wine, not to mention different "denominazioni" that, in some cases, have no relation to each other.
Let's start off with Montepulciano d'Abruzzo which is the name of the "Denominazione di Origine Controllata" (DOC) from the east central province along the Adriatic coast. In this case, the denominazione name is the same as the grape varietal. The deep-colored grape dominant in Abruzzo, and also prevalent from the Marches to Apulia in Southern Italy, Montepulciano produces popular, full-flavored, zesty red wines that offer great values for everyday quaffing. In fact, one of the best deals in the local tri-state area for this wine can be found at Wegman's Wine & Liquors in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Typically, the Montepulciano d'Abruzzo from Le Altane is a featured selection stacked right at the store entrance for about $6-7 a bottle. Medium-bodied and robust, yet supple and smooth, this eminently quaffable red goes well with pizza and pasta, and at such a bargain price, is worth stocking up for everyday drinking.
To add to the "Montepulciano confusion", the rosé ("rosato" in Italian), produced from the same grape in the same region, is known as "Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo" (not to be confused with the "Cerasuolo di Vittoria" produced from the frappato grape in Sicily!).
We move on now to another prominent wine style that incorporates the Montepulciano nomenclature but, in fact, is made from a different grape altogether. The Vino Nobile di Montepulciano comes from the Tuscan hilltop town of Montepulciano and is produced from perhaps the best known Italian grape varietal - Sangiovese, which is known locally as Prugnolo Gentile. The Vino Nobile is a DOCG (denominazione di origine controllata e garantita, the highest classification in the Italian system) wine which can be puckery with drying tannins, but complex and long-lasting. The reference to "nobile" or nobles, originates from several centuries ago in homage to its status among the nobility. (The DOC Rosso di Montepulciano is a younger, less expensive alternative to the Vino Nobile, which itself is attractively priced compared to the high end Brunello di Montalcino, also produced from the Sangiovese grape.) Poliziano is a top producer of Vino Nobile which retails for about $30 a bottle depending on the vintage.
Finally, let's take a quick, virtual trip to the picturesque town of Montepulciano, perched atop a large hill in southeastern Tuscany with splendid panoramic views of the green, undulating valleys below. The Piazza Grande serves as the monumental center of the town where outdoor markets and communal events often take place. Among the impressive edifices that border the piazza, look for the Palazzo Comunale , the Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta, and the Palazzo Tarugi.
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| Palazzo Tarugli |
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| Tuscan countryside near Montepulciano |
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| Tuscan countryside |
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Palazzo Comunale, Montepulciano La Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta |
