Montepulciano

Montepulciano is a dark-skinned Italian red wine grape, best known as the backbone of Montepulciano d'Abruzzo — the soft, juicy, deeply coloured red of Italy's east-central Abruzzo region. It must not be confused with Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, a Tuscan wine made chiefly from Sangiovese and named for its town, not its grape. Late-ripening and thick-skinned, Montepulciano yields an inky, full-coloured wine with ripe, gentle tannins, moderate acidity and a generous core of plum and black cherry. Affordable, food-friendly and widely planted across central and southern Italy, it is one of the country's most important and most under-rated reds — round, plummy and easy to love.