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Montepulciano
12.5km
(8 miles) E of Pienza; 67km (40
miles) SE of Siena; 124km (74
miles) SE of Florence; 186km (115
miles) N of Rome
The
biggest and highest of southern
Tuscany's hill towns, steeply
graded Montepulciano, with
its medieval alleyways and
plethora of Renaissance palaces
and churches, has just enough city
feel and tourist infrastructure to
make it one of the best bases for
visiting the region. The fields
around the town produce a
violet-scented, orange-speckled
ruby wine called Vino Nobile di
Montepulciano. This area has
been known since at least the 8th
century for its superior wine, and
in the 17th century, when
Francesco Redi wrote his vino-praising
poem, Bacchus in Tuscany,
he described the Noble Wine of
Montepulciano as "The King of
all wines." Vino Nobile is
known as Tuscany's number-two red
because it's slightly less beefy
than Montalcino's Brunello. But
for my money, its high quality and
more mellow character make it a
better all-around wine, good to
age and save for special occasions
but also to toss back with dinner
or on a picnic.
The
locals call themselves Poliziani
after the Roman name for the town,
and Poliziano is the name the
local classical scholar/humanist
Angelo Ambrogini took when he went
to Florence to hold discourses
with Lorenzo de' Medici, tutor
Lorenzo's sons, and write some of
the most finely crafted
Renaissance poetry of the
era--some say his Stanze per la
Giostra inspired Botticelli's
mythological paintings, like the Birth
of Venus and Allegory of
Spring.
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