{"id":40527,"date":"2022-11-10T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-10T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.xtrawine.com\/?p=40527"},"modified":"2023-02-10T13:25:16","modified_gmt":"2023-02-10T12:25:16","slug":"what-you-need-to-know-about-the-santo-di-montepulciano-doc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.xtrawine.com\/en\/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-santo-di-montepulciano-doc\/","title":{"rendered":"What You Need to Know About the Santo di Montepulciano DOC"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We all know that seeing DOC on a bottle of Italian wine is a sure sign that the wine meets specific quality standards. After all, that\u2019s the point of both the DOC and DOCG labels. They exist to tell you that the wine is made following very strict criteria designed to ensure the wine is made in a particular region and that it follows specific rules during production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every year, the Italian wine industry selects a few wines to be made into DOC wines. And there are currently dozens with their own DOC rules to follow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Santo di Montepulciano is one of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This outstanding sweet Italian wine hails from the small Tuscan town of Montepulciano. The mere mention of Tuscany<\/a> has likely piqued your interest, as many know this as one of the most important Italian wine regions. In this article, we\u2019ll explore the Santo di Montepulciano DOC so you know what you\u2019re getting if you decide to try this wine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Quick Facts<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As mentioned, Santo di Montepulciano is produced in a single small Tuscan town. It combines several white wine grapes, including Malvasia, Trebbiano, and Grechetto, with the famous Sangiovese, the grape used to make Chianti.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Santo di Montepulciano was established as a DOC in 1996, meaning it has over 25 years of DOC guidance. It\u2019s also made in pretty small quantities, with only seven hectares dedicated to its production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DOC comes in several compositions, each of which leads to the creation of a sweet wine. These include Vin Santo<\/strong>, the white variety that combines the three white wine grapes mentioned earlier. This wine has a requirement that at least 70% of its composition must come from Grechetto, with the rest made up of Trebbiano and Malvasia. The Vin Santo variety of the wine also has a Riserva version, which has more extended ageing requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, Vin Santo Occhio di Pernice, a Ros\u00e9 wine that combines the three white varieties with Sangiovese. In this case, the wine needs to have 50% Sangiovese, with producers then free to play around with the composition of the other three grapes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond these basics, there are several rules for both wines to follow:<\/p>\n\n\n\n