Red Grape · Abruzzo

Montepulciano

Italy's great everyday red - dark, soft-tannined and built for the dinner table, not the auction room.

Montepulciano (Mon-teh-pool-chee-ah-noh) is the second most widely planted red grape variety in Italy, after Sangiovese. It is grown all over the peninsula, above all on the Adriatic coast in the central and southern regions. It is also the grape used for one of the most popular Italian wines, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo.

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9
Denominations

Clearing it up

One name, two different wines

vs
This is the grape

Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

The grape, made along the Adriatic

  • From AbruzzoCentral-eastern Italy, on the Adriatic coast.
  • Soft, dark and givingPlush tannin, blackberry depth, easy to love young.
  • Brilliant valueHonest weeknight reds, often under 15 pounds.
Not this

Vino Nobile di Montepulciano

A place, a town in Tuscany

  • From TuscanyA hilltop town 250 km away.
  • Made from SangioveseFirm, savoury, a wholly different grape.
  • A serious cellar wineAged, ambitious and priced to match.

The anchor fact: Montepulciano the grape is genetically unrelated to Sangiovese, the grape behind Vino Nobile. DNA profiling finally separated the two after a century of confusion.

Taste · Where it sits

What it’s actually like in the glass

Forget scores out of five. Here’s Montepulciano described against grapes you already know.

BodyFull & warming
LightFull

Weightier than Chianti, a shade less imposing than a young Barolo.

TanninFirm but soft-edged
SoftGrippy

Grippier than Pinot Noir, far gentler than Nebbiolo.

AcidityFresh, food-friendly
SoftZippy

Bright enough to cut through ragu and roast lamb.

Fruit & sweetnessRipe, fully dry
DrySweet

Dark, jammy fruit reads almost sweet, but the wine is dry.

Key flavours

Blackberry
The dark, brambly core of every Montepulciano - its thick, pigment-rich skins push blackberry to the front.
Blueberry
A rounder, cooler-toned berry that creeps in from the higher Teramo hillsides, softening the blackberry edge.
Violet
A floral lift that separates Montepulciano from Sangiovese cherry; most obvious in younger, cooler-grown wines.
Leather
A savoury note that only emerges with bottle age, drawn from the grapes heavy tannin pigments.
Structured · Tannic Soft · Approachable Light-bodied Bold · Full Sangiovese Nebbiolo Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Franc Barbera
Montepulciano

The map

Montepulciano is full-bodied, firm tannin, mapped against other red grapes you can buy. The closer a grape sits, the more its weight and grip resemble Montepulciano.

Montepulcianofull-bodied, firm tannin
Sangiovesea close match
Nebbioloa close match
Merlota close match
Cabernet Sauvignonfuller, firmer
Cabernet Franclighter, softer
Barberafar softer

Is this for you?

An honest gut-check

Reach for it when…

A bold red that just works

  • You're cooking tomato-rich pasta, lamb or a Tuesday-night roast.
  • You like depth and dark fruit but not mouth-drying tannin.
  • You want real character for around 10 to 15 pounds.

Maybe skip it if…

You’re after something else tonight

  • You love bright, high-acid, lighter reds to sip on their own.
  • You want the grip and perfume of a classic Nebbiolo.

Serving guide

Pour it at its best

Serve at

16-18°C

Cool a touch below room temperature; too warm and the alcohol dominates.

Decant

1 hours

Tight on opening; an hour of air lets the dark fruit unfurl.

Glass

Large Balloon Glass

A wide bowl gathers the blackberry-and-violet aromatics before each sip.

Drink within

3-5 days

Re-corked and chilled, an open bottle holds for several days.

Cellar

Up to 5 years

Most are made for now; Riserva and Colline Teramane reward patience.

On the table

What to eat with Montepulciano

Start with the home-table matches that made the grape, then browse the full cuisine library.

Porchetta

The home match

Porchetta

Fat and herb-crusted roast pork against soft tannin and dark fruit.
Crescia

The crowd-pleaser

Crescia

Abruzzo's flatbread and cured meats echo the wine's savoury side.
Maccheroncini di Campofilone

The easy win

Maccheroncini di Campofilone

Egg pasta with a meat ragu; fresh acidity slices through.

Browse every pairing

Italian Italian
Pasta 6 Pizza, Focaccia and Italian Flatbreads 4 Meats 2
International International
Fish and seafood 2 Beef & Steak 1 Chicken & Poultry 1 Lamb 1
British British
Pies & Puddings 3

Buy it · three to start with

Not sure which bottle? Start here

A curated trio across the price range, then every Montepulciano on sale in the UK right now.

Entry · everyday

Montepulciano d’Abruzzo

Montepulciano d’Abruzzo

Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

2 retailers

£10.04

View Wine

Why this one: The grape at its most recognisable: juicy, soft and dependable.

Special occasion

Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Villa Le Querce

Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Villa Le Querce

Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

1 retailer

£12.95

View Wine

Why this one: A single-estate bottling: the grape's more serious side.

12 of 53 bottles

Denominations

Where it earns a name on the label

The appellations where Montepulciano plays a starring role.

Montepulciano d'AbruzzoDOC BasilicataIGT Cerasuolo d'AbruzzoDOC Colline Teramane Montepulciano d'AbruzzoDOCG CòneroDOCG Grottino di RoccanovaDOC OffidaDOCG Rosso CòneroDOC Rosso Piceno/PicenoDOC

Where it grows

The places it calls home

Abruzzo

Abruzzo runs from Gran Sasso to the Adriatic, turning Montepulciano into dark reds, Cerasuolo rosato and a new wave of Pecorino and Trebbiano whites. Read more

177 wines · 19 denominations

Marche

From Castelli di Jesi Verdicchio to Conero Montepulciano and Offida Pecorino, Marche covers 5 DOCGs across roughly 16,500 hectares of Adriatic and Apennine Read more

142 wines · 23 denominations

Umbria

Italy's landlocked green heart, where Montefalco Sagrantino brings the deepest tannins on the peninsula and Orvieto's tufa cliffs ripen the country's most Read more

95 wines · 21 denominations

Molise

Italy's quietest wine region: Tintilia rediscovered on Apennine slopes, Montepulciano ripened by Adriatic light, and Biferno reds anchored above the Termoli Read more

15 wines · 6 denominations

The terroir

Montepulciano is a chameleon of altitude. On the warm Adriatic plain it ripens fast into soft everyday reds; in the cooler foothills it holds acidity and tannin for wines built to age.

Coastal Abruzzo

Warm Adriatic plain

Soft, generous, everyday reds; drink young.

Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

The flagship appellation

The benchmark dark, plush red.

Editorial

About Montepulciano

Formerly known as Montepulciano Cerasuolo, this wine is labelled today as Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo. It comes from a direct pressing of Montepulciano grapes, and it was the first pink DOC in Italy. It is fruity and refreshing, with an appealing cherry-like colour. The name Cerasuolo comes from ‘cherry red’ in Italian.

For a century it was mistaken for Tuscan Sangiovese; only DNA proved the two grapes were entirely unrelated.

The confusion that defined the grape

This wine shows intense floral and fruity aromas, alongside a remarkable acidity. Its body and soft texture offset that acidity superbly. The best examples come from the north of Abruzzo, at the foot of the Teramo Hills.

Montepulciano Riserva wines are aged in oak barrels or barriques for at least 12 months. They show a bouquet of red fruits, sweet spices and leather.

The grapes are picked after they have raisined. The wines then express aromas of ripe red fruits, spiced with cloves and liquorice. They are velvety and long-lasting, with balanced tannins.

The most accredited theory has Montepulciano starting in Torre de' Passeri or the Peligna basin, in Abruzzo. From there it spread throughout the region in the early 1900s and into southern Marche.

For a long time this grape was confused with Tuscan Sangiovese. Only the vine studies of the 19th century established the difference between the two grapes.

Today Montepulciano is widespread throughout central-southern Italy, above all in the Adriatic regions. It runs from the hills of Rimini to the province of Lecce. Abruzzo is still its main home.

Explore by style

Wine styles made from Montepulciano

Jump to the editorial guide for each style this grape turns up in.

Keep exploring

More red grapes