Tuscany on the label, the Nobile di Montepulciano marks the route

Pearl of Renaissance Tuscany, Montepulciano, with its Nobile wine, is one of the diamonds of the Granducato’s wine. An ancient wine, already sung by Redi, a physician, in the Granducato of Tuscany, with the Medici family, and academic in 1685 defined “d’ogni vino è il Re” in the opera “Bacco in Toscana”. The birthplace of the Agnolo Poliziano, who was at the court of Lorenzo il Magnifico and preceptor of the Medici family, and a hospitable land for Antonio da Sangallo il Vecchio, creator of the Temple of San Biagio, which has always been a place where wine has interacted with history, today sees modern and technological cellars coexisting alongside ancient Etruscan caves, medieval and Renaissance cellars whose Vino Nobile refines and rests. The first Docg of Italy, exactly 40 years ago, by decree of the President of the Republic Sandro Pertini, with the Consortium that stores the first Docg band of Italian wine, the series AA No. 000001, the denomination is the first one that, for its Vino Nobile, for the Rosso and the Vinsanto di Montepulciano, has decided to include on the label, obligatorily, also the name Toscana, already one of the most known and established brand in the world, of wine and not only. A denomination that celebrates another 5-star vintage, 2019, unveiled at the Anteprima del Vino Nobile. A Denomination that has given a turning point to its history, with the obligatory addition, for Nobile, Rosso, and Vinsanto di Montepulciano, of the very strong Tuscan brand on the label. This idea was born to distinguish itself, once and for all, from Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, a wine very different from Sangiovese di Montepulciano, where the queen grape of Tuscany is called “Prugnolo Gentile”, but then became a strategic choice for the markets, where the strength of Tuscany as a brand will be great added value. A path, the one opened by Montepulciano, which could soon be followed by many other wine territories. “It was the first good news in 2020,” Andrea Rossi, president of the Consorzio del Vino Nobile di Montepulciano e Della Vecchia Cantina, told WineNews, “two years ago this idea was launched to distinguish us from Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, then we became aware that the Tuscan brand can give great added value to our wine on the market, and perhaps this is what convinced all producers the most. We all know that in the world Tuscany is easy to place from a geographical point of view, we all know that in the North American market which is our first goal Tuscany is for everyone the journey of desires, we expect that putting Tuscany on the label will promote communication and trade of our product.
“It is not the solution to solve the problem with Montepulciano d’Abruzzo - underlines Andrea Lonardi (Bertani Domains), who, in the territory, owns Val Delle Rose - Tuscany is like saying Bordeaux, today, you have to think about a concept of the system. In Bordeaux, you can drink a Saint-Émilion or a Saint-Estèphe, and then there is Bordeaux. The value of the Tuscany brand could be this, with different territorial identities that could play with mutual interest”.
“Adding Tuscany to the label is important, it means strengthening our territorial identity, our belonging”, relaunches Caterina Dei, at the head of Cantine Dei, echoed by Federico Carletti di Poliziano: “it is an overall choice, both to eliminate the confusion with Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, and strategic, also approved by all the other consortia that have not opposed. Perhaps some other denominations will follow this choice of the road”.
“We started from the ones on Montepulciano d’Abruzzo - says Andrea Contucci of Cantina Contucci - then it is clear that there is also the union of two strong brands, Tuscany and Nobile di Montepulciano, and from this, we expect a lot, and it will be an advantage especially for the consumer. We are optimistic, then we will see how the market will respond”.
“Now you cannot get confused anymore, because Nobile has always been in Tuscany, and Tuscany is a great brand”, says Antonio Michael Zaccheo Jr., at the wheel of Carpineto, while for Boscarelli’s Nicolò De Ferrari, “it is certainly an added value, let’s hope it is a well-received idea and that it works”.
“At last we understand that making a system of territory is important, telling the world that the Nobile di Montepulciano is Tuscany is very important, as well as distinguishing us from Abruzzo”, says Vincenzo Tassinari of Tenute del Cerro, while according to Adriano Annovi of Tenuta Lunadoro of the Schenk Group, “Tuscany is a driving force in the world, and will bring benefits”.
“We thought a lot about this issue - adds Luca Tiberini of the Tiberini winery - we thought and believed that focusing everything on the importance of the Tuscan brand was an important road, and not only for us in Montepulciano”.
A new path that starts, therefore, for the first DOCG in Italy, which today expresses a value, between assets, turnover, and production, of around € 1 billion, starting from € 65 million in which the average annual value is estimated of wine production, not to mention that 70% of the local economy is directly induced by wine. An important figure for a territory in which out of 16,500 hectares of the municipal area, 2,000 hectares are planted with vines, namely approximately 16% of the municipal landscape is characterized by vines. Of these 1,377 are the hectares registered in Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Docg, while 571 the hectares registered in Rosso di Montepulciano Doc. Over 250 winegrowers cultivate these vineyards (there are 90 bottlers in all, of which 78 associated with the Consortium of producers). In 2019, 6.2 million bottles of Vino Nobile and 2.6 million Rosso di Montepulciano were placed on the market. Addressed to a market which, for the Nobile, is 78% export, with Germany alone, worth 43% of all exports, ahead of the USA with 22%, with the wines of the denomination which, however, they widen their borders more and more towards Asia, but also in Canada. While, in the Italian market, direct sales within the company are growing, also thanks to wine tourism, which moves more than 1 bottle out of 5 of those destined for the domestic market.