Società del Vino: Three Bottles, Two Tuscan Towns

Montepulciano to San Gimignano

Three bottles that show how much can change when you travel just a little farther down the road in Tuscany.

The third shipment of Italian wines has arrived, and this time we're staying entirely in Tuscany. But we're narrowing the map.Two of these wines come from Montepulciano in southeastern Tuscany. The third comes from San Gimignano, about 60 miles to the northwest. And while that isn't a huge distance, the wines couldn't be more different.

We have a young Rosso di Montepulciano, a more serious Vino Nobile di Montepulciano from the 2020 vintage, and a crisp white Vernaccia di San Gimignano.

Three bottles. Two historic Tuscan hill towns. And another good example of why simply saying “Tuscan wine” doesn't tell you nearly enough.

Calici delle Mura Rosso di Montepulciano 2024

Rosso di Montepulciano DOC · Montepulciano, Tuscany · Sangiovese · 12.5%

Our first bottle comes from Montepulciano.

And before going any further, there's an Italian wine confusion worth clearing up.

Montepulciano here is a place—not the grape.

The town of Montepulciano sits high on a ridge in southeastern Tuscany, surrounded by vineyards that have been producing wine for centuries. The principal red grape here is Sangiovese, traditionally called Prugnolo Gentile around Montepulciano. This 2024 Calici delle Mura is a Rosso di Montepulciano made from 100% Sangiovese. Rosso is essentially the younger, more immediately approachable side of Montepulciano wine. It doesn't have the aging requirements of Vino Nobile and is designed to show more freshness and fruit.

What's in the glass

This is the kind of Sangiovese I like having around for dinner.

Look for cherry and fresh red fruit, floral notes and a little black pepper, with bright acidity and fine tannins. At 12.5% alcohol, it should feel lively rather than heavy. That's an important part of the appeal. Not every Tuscan red needs years in a cellar or a special occasion. Sometimes you want Sangiovese that you can open on a Tuesday night and put next to dinner.

What I'd eat with it

Pizza would be near the top of my list.

I'd also serve this with pasta and tomato sauce, sausage, grilled pork, salumi or a simple plate of pecorino. Basically, this is a put-food-on-the-table-and-open-the-bottle kind of wine.

Frank's Take

Rosso di Montepulciano can get overshadowed by its more prestigious neighbor, Vino Nobile. But that's part of what makes it interesting. You get Sangiovese from Montepulciano without necessarily having to wait for it—or pay Vino Nobile prices. And conveniently, our next bottle lets us taste the difference.

Vecchia Cantina Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2020

Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG · Montepulciano, Tuscany · Sangiovese · 13.5%

Same town.

Same primary grape.

Very different idea.

Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is one of Tuscany's historic red wines and carries the higher DOCG classification. This bottle comes from Vecchia Cantina di Montepulciano, a cooperative founded in 1937 and today one of the major producers in the area.

The bottle even gives us a little clue about what to expect before we open it.

There's a 90-point James Suckling medallion right on the front.

But as I've said before, Società del Vino isn't really about chasing points.

I'm more interested in what's inside.

What's in the glass

The 2020 is predominantly Sangiovese and moves us toward the more structured side of the grape. Expect ripe red cherry and other red fruits along with herbs, underbrush and spice.

Compared with the Rosso, there should be more depth, structure and tannin here.

The wine has also had several years to develop since the 2020 harvest, so we're no longer dealing only with fresh fruit. This is where some of those savory and earthy characteristics that make mature Tuscan Sangiovese interesting begin to show themselves.

What I'd eat with it

This is where I'd bring out the bigger food.

Bistecca alla Fiorentina would be hard to beat.

I'd also pair it with pappardelle al cinghiale, braised beef, roast lamb, osso buco or a good aged pecorino. And I'd probably open the bottle an hour before dinner.

Frank's Take

This is why I wanted the Rosso and the Vino Nobile in the same shipment. Put them next to each other and Italian wine starts making more sense. Both come from Montepulciano. Both are based on Sangiovese. But one is about youth, freshness and easy drinking. The other is about structure, aging and complexity. Instead of reading about the difference between Rosso di Montepulciano and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, we can just open both bottles. That's a much better lesson.

Cecchi Torrebona Vernaccia di San Gimignano 2025

Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG · San Gimignano, Tuscany · Vernaccia · 12.5%

Bottle number three takes us away from Montepulciano and north toward one of the most recognizable towns in Tuscany. San Gimignano. It's the medieval hill town famous for the stone towers that still dominate its skyline.And appropriately, those towers are right there on the bottle. But San Gimignano has another claim to fame. Vernaccia di San Gimignano is one of Tuscany's great historic white wines. That's an important reminder because Tuscany is so closely associated with red wine—Sangiovese, Chianti, Brunello and Vino Nobile—that it's easy to overlook its whites. This 2025 Torrebona comes from Cecchi, a Tuscan wine family whose history dates back to the late 1800s.

What's in the glass

This is going in a completely different direction from our first two bottles.

Cecchi describes Torrebona around two words that pretty much sum up what I want from Vernaccia: Balance and freshness. Expect a delicate aroma, fresh citrus and orchard-fruit character, crisp acidity and the slightly savory quality that can make Vernaccia particularly good with food.The 2025 vintage is young, and that's exactly how I'd want to drink it.Serve it well chilled—but not ice cold. Around 50–54°F is about right.

What I'd eat with it

Seafood.

Grilled branzino, shrimp, calamari or linguine alle vongole would all work beautifully.

Cecchi also recommends it with white meats. I'd happily pour it alongside a simple roast chicken, but I'd probably start with some pecorino, prosciutto and olives while figuring out what's for dinner.

Frank's Take

I like this bottle being in the shipment because it breaks the pattern.

After two Sangiovese-based reds from Montepulciano, suddenly we're drinking a crisp white from San Gimignano. Same region. Completely different wine. And that's becoming one of my favorite things about exploring Tuscany bottle by bottle.

Three Bottles, Two Towns

This may only be three wines, but there's a lot of Tuscany sitting on the table.

The Calici delle Mura Rosso di Montepulciano 2024 gives us young, fresh Sangiovese.

The Vecchia Cantina Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2020 takes essentially the same grape and gives us a more serious, structured and age-worthy expression. Then the Cecchi Torrebona Vernaccia di San Gimignano 2025 changes grapes, color and town completely.

And I think the most interesting tasting would be the first two. Same place. Same grape. Different rules and different ambitions.

Open the Rosso first. Then the Vino Nobile. Taste them side by side with dinner.

That's the kind of comparison that teaches you more about Italian wine than memorizing another list of DOCs and DOCGs ever will. And then, the next day, put the Vernaccia in the refrigerator and start all over again.

That's shipment number three.

Three more bottles.

Three more reasons to keep exploring.

Salute!

— Frank