Do we ship to you?.
More wines available from Valentini
More Details
Winery
Valentini
Varietal: Montepulciano
Montepulciano varietal grapes have been popular in Italy and elsewhere in the world for a very long time, and continue to be grown in vast quantities in Italy to this day. Indeed, they are second most commonly cultivated red wine grape varietal in their native Italy, and grow everywhere in the country except for in the north, where the climate is a little too cold for them to ripen fully. Recent decades have seen them planted in several New World countries, where they are equally popular with vintners looking for a varietal which produces high yields of a reliable quality. The grapes are renowned for producing quite light bodied wines, as the fruit has a low acid and tannin level. However, there are plenty of pigments within the grape skins, meaning that Montepulciano is a grape varietal which produces beautifully deep colored wines.
Region: Abruzzo
There are few wine regions in the world quite as ancient or interesting as that of Abruzzo, a region of central Italy which has been producing wines for almost three thousand years. Indeed, wines were being made and enjoyed there in pre-Roman times, and several historical records mention the quality of Abruzzo wines, and many of the famous individuals who drank them in ancient times. Today, the region is doing very well indeed, now fully recovered from the drop in reputation it suffered in the mid twentieth century. Abruzzo wines are primarily made with the excellent Montepulciano and Trebbiano varietal grapes which flourish there, and are notable for their big, bold and fruit-forward flavors, which have proven to be popular with modern palates, and match well with a range of cuisines.
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.