Montepulciano d’Abruzzo

This has to be one of the best values in wine recently. You can find Montepulciano priced from $5 to $10, with fancy ones up to $16. My favorites lie in the $8 to $10 dollar range. Like Chianti, these are light wines with good acid, which means that they are refreshing during hot weather, and that they pair well with food, especially Italian food with lots of tomatoes. I have even paired them with my dhal and curries, which are also rich in ripe tomato zest, when I don’t want to pair Indian food with Riesling or Gewürztraminer.

My favorite thing about these wines is that they are cheap, but well-balanced. To be specific, they are never too high in alcohol or hot, too sweet, too fruity, too bitter, or too tart. Plus they have just enough flavor to not overpower food, but you can drink them alone and really have fun with it, especially if you are the hostess of a budget-driven party.

When shopping for these wines, or excitingly telling others, it is important not to confuse them with Brunello di Montalcino or Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. Both of these excellent wines come from around the Tuscany area and are made from the Sangiovese grape (Brunello is a synonym for Sangiovese). However Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is made from the Montepulciano grape in the Abruzzo region near the East Coast of central Italy, not in the famed town of Montepulciano.

These wines have been tested at my parties. After everyone has filled up on glass after glass of Montepulciano, ignoring a flabby, cheap Californian Cabernet Sauvignon, and they can no longer pronounce Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, I reveal that they have been drinking an $8 dollar wine. And then they say, they say….well they don’t really care, they are enjoying the night too much.