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Valentini
Varietal: Montepulciano
One of the most widely grown grapes in Italy is the Montepulciano varietal, which is much loved by wine producers and drinkers alike due to its drinkability and full, ripe flavors It thrives most successfully in warm and dry terroirs, and as such can grow in most of Italy's wine regions, where it is popular with vintners due to the fact that it produces very high yields. In recent years, it has been grown in many other countries around the world, where it is prized for its color and large plummy notes, making it an ideal varietal for many international palates. The wines themselves are usually soft and rounded, with mild tannins present in the mouth. However, the tannins in the grape skins contain lots of pigment, making these wines remarkably deep and dark in color.
Region: Abruzzo
The ancient region of Abruzzo in central Italy has been an important center of wine production for millennia, with most archaeologists agreeing that the first vines cultivated in the excellent soils of the region were probably planted sometime in the sixth century BCE. Indeed, legend has it that Hannibal was given Abruzzo wine after he brought his elephants over the Alps, whilst on his way to sack Rome. As with many historic wine regions of Italy, Abruzzo's reputation was heavily tarnished in the mid 20th century, and it became known as a region more concerned with bulk and quantity than quality. Today, this couldn't be further from the truth, and wineries in Abruzzo are once more using their traditional techniques to make wonderful, characterful wines from their native grape varietals, and finding new successes and new fans all the time.
Country: Italy
Italy is recognised as being one of the finest wine producing countries in the world, and it isn't difficult to see why. With a vast amount of land across the country used primarily for vineyard cultivation and wine production, each region of Italy manages to produce a wide range of excellent quality wines, each representative of the region it is produced in. Any lover of Italian wines will be able to tell you of the variety the country produces, from the deliciously astringent and alpine-fresh wines of the northern borders, to the deliciously jammy and fruit-forward wines of the south and the Italian islands. Regions such as Barolo are frequently compared with Bordeaux and Burgundy in France, as their oak aged red wines have all the complexity and earthy, spicy excellence of some of the finest wines in the world, and the sparkling wines of Asti and elsewhere in Italy can easily challenge and often exceed the high standards put forward by Champagne. Thanks to excellent terrain and climatic conditions, Italy has long since proven itself a major player in the world of wines, and long may this dedication to quality and excellence continue.