Montepulciano (mon-ta-pull-channo), as you might guess by its name, is an Italian wine. You might also guess that it’s from a region or town of Montepulciano, Italy. There, you’d be wrong.

Montepulciano is a beautiful medieval town in Tuscany, in central Italy. But, oddly enough, Montepulciano wines are not produced there.

Instead, Montepulciano wines are from Marche, Molise, northern Puglia and most notably, Abruzzo. All of these regions are along the eastern coast of Italy and benefit from the cooling winds off the Adriatic Sea.

So, Montepulciano wines are made of Montepulciano grapes but they have nothing to do with the town Montepulciano.

To make things even more confusing, the wines that are produced in Montepulciano are, like most Tuscan wines, made from Sangiovese.

Montepulciano is the second most planted red grape in Italy. Sangiovese, the grape used to make Chianti, is the most widely planted grape of Italy.

Montepulciano has long held a reputation for being low-priced fruity red wines that go well with pizza and bold tomato-based sauces. This reputation is true. But, there are many producers, especially in Abruzzo, that are making some very well-structured wines displaying notes of cherry, crushed herbs and tobacco.

Finally, for a wine to be a certified Montepulciano d’Abruzzo it has to comply with the following rules:

• It must be made with at least 85% Montepulciano grapes (up to 15% Sangiovese is allowed)

• The wine must be aged for at least 5 months before it is released

• To be labeled as a Riserva, the wine must be aged for at least two years including a minimum of nine months in wood barrels

Although a bit confusing, Montepulciano wines can be quite good and, as the most exported Italian wine to the U.S., it can be very reasonably priced. Cheers!