MONTEPULCIANO IS BOTH A RED GRAPE USED TO MAKE WINE — AND ALSO A BEAUTIFUL VILLAGE IN SOUTHERN TUSCANY

Welcome to my new blog.  Whether you’re a personal friend, business acquaintance or otherwise connected to Votto Vines or one of my other endeavors, I hope that you’ll find something interesting in Wine, Business, Life.   I’ll discuss wine, and particularly the business aspects of the wine & spirits industry, business principles, strategies and concepts that I’ve picked up over the years and occasionally random topics like Italian travel, family traditions, mindfulness in business and even youth sports. You’ll also see posts from my business partners and colleagues.  Please enjoy and keep in touch.

More than likely, anyone who has traveled in Italy, comes from an Italian family or knows any Italians, will appreciate that the Italians have a great sense of humor – both intentionally and unintentionally.   Have you traveled the Italian countryside and found that the road signs either seem to disappear at various points, or appear to be sending you in circles?  Or maybe you’ve found that some signage has an English translation, while others do not.  Or, my personal favorite, the train routes that inexplicably run on certain days and not others.  During my many visits to Italy, I’ve often thought that I must be on a hidden video looking completely lost while a room of Italians were somewhere laughing at me.

Therefore, it should come as no surprise that there is mass and continuing confusion about Montepulciano.   Montepulciano is both a red grape used to make wine – and also a beautiful village in Southern Tuscany famous for its Vino Nobile di Montepulciano wine.   And, get ready for this, Montepulciano (the grape) does not grow in Montepulciano (the town), nor does Vino Nobile di Montepulciano (the wine) have any Montepulciano (the grape) in it.  Confused yet?  You should be.

Let’s start with Montepulciano, the grape.  It is most famously grown in the Abruzzo region and used to produce Montepulciano d’Abruzzo wine.   Typically characterized by its deep red color and easy-drinking yet rustic style, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo often has notes of berries and pepper, with relatively low acidity.   We have historically done very well with quality Montepulciano wines priced in the $12-15/bottle range at retail with limited sales of higher end offerings.

At Votto Vines, we’ve been fortunate to work with one of the leading Abruzzo family wineries, Jasci e Marchesani, for many years.   Nicola Jasci (owner and winemaker) even traveled from Italy to the States for our 10-year anniversary party last fall.   Jasci is an organic farm and cultivates primary Montepulciano along with other grapes such as Pecorino (the white Italian grape, not the cheese) and Chardonnay.

What about Montepulciano, the village.  It’s a beautiful hillside town about 75 miles southeast of Florence and 115 miles north of Rome.  Nearby towns and villages include Siena, Montalcino and Cortona.  The area produces some of the best wine and olive oil in the world.

When in Montepulciano, here are some of my favorite places.  Please get in touch and we’ll set you up with VIP treatment.

Fattoria Svetoni: Historic wine estate that was recently purchased and renovated by a group of veteran wine industry folks in Italy.  The five star accommodations are worth seeking out! https://www.fattoriasvetoni.it/en/

Vecchia Cantina di Montepulciano: One of our longest standing winery partners, Vecchia Cantina was founded in 1937 by 14 winemakers dedicated to producing incredible wine from the local terroir of Tuscany. https://www.vecchiacantinadimontepulciano.com/.

Birrificio di Montepulciano:  Just like the United States, there are an emerging number of incredible craft micro-breweries in Italy.  This is by far our favorite.  https://www.birrificiodimontepulciano.it/en/.