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Valentini
Varietal: Montepulciano
The deep and dark wines made from the Montepulciano grape varietal have been hugely popular in Italy for over a thousand years, and remain popular to this day due to their large ripe flavors, and easy drinking character. Indeed, the Montepulciano grape is the second most cultivated red wine grape in Italy, with it being grown in twenty of the country's ninety five wine provinces. In recent decades, it has been cultivated in several other countries in the New World, in places with the correct warm and dry climatic conditions it thrives in. The Montepulciano grape has a low acidity, and medium levels of tannin, making it a smooth wine with a relatively light body, allowing the delicious flavors of ripened autumn fruits take center stage. It produces high yields, and matches well with many different foods.
Region: Abruzzo
Abruzzo in central Italy is a fascinating and truly ancient wine region. Abruzzo has been a center of viticulture for almost three thousand years, supposedly a favorite of the ancient Etruscan civilization, and later boosted by the wine-obsessed Romans, who recognized that its range of terroirs was ideal for producing wines of real character and distinction. Abruzzo benefits from being close to both mountains and the coast, which results in a wide variety of quality wines, although as with many regions in Italy, it experienced a drop in its international reputation during the mid twentieth century. Today, the wine industry of Abruzzo is experiencing something of a renaissance, once more producing characterful wines packed full of interesting traditional flavors and aromas, primarily made from the local Trebbiano and Montepulciano varietal grapes which thrive there.
Country: Italy
There are few countries in the world with a viticultural history as long or as illustrious as that claimed by Italy. Grapes were first being grown and cultivated on Italian soil several thousand years ago by the Greeks and the Pheonicians, who named Italy 'Oenotria' – the land of wines – so impressed were they with the climate and the suitability of the soil for wine production. Of course, it was the rise of the Roman Empire which had the most lasting influence on wine production in Italy, and their influence can still be felt today, as much of the riches of the empire came about through their enthusiasm for producing wines and exporting it to neighbouring countries. Since those times, a vast amount of Italian land has remained primarily for vine cultivation, and thousands of wineries can be found throughout the entire length and breadth of this beautiful country, drenched in Mediterranean sunshine and benefiting from the excellent fertile soils found there. Italy remains very much a 'land of wines', and one could not imagine this country, its landscape and culture, without it.