Sangiovese - a versatile variety full of life

Sangiovese is a red variety, grown mainly in Tuscany, Umbria and Emilia-Romagna. Also popular in Corsica, where it can be found under the name nielluccio, and produces wines with strongly herbal aromas.

It is from Tuscany that the best-known interpretations of sangiovese such as chianti, chianti classico, vino nobile di montepulciano and brunello di montalcino come from. The variety is characterised by grapes with much thicker skins, which translates into higher levels of tannins and greater concentration of aromas in the wine.

Outside of Italy, sangiovese succeeds only in California and Australia, as it is a variety that prefers a warm and dry climate.

It is valued by winemakers above all for its distinct tannins, maintaining high acidity, interesting aromatic bouquet and adaptability to barrel aging.

In the Barossa Valley, sangiovese ripens in full sun and almost no rainfall during the key fruit growing period. This allows winemakers to build a more powerfully structured wine, which is suitable for aging in new oak barrels, which, in turn, translates into a more ripe and complex aroma. Sangiovese from the New World produce wines with unique aromas of sweet cherries and ripe raspberries.

Due to the balance between fruit notes and high acidity, sangiovese goes perfectly with many Italian and Polish dishes.

In a light version, it goes well with the classics of Tuscan cuisine, such as ravioli with spinach and ricotta, gnocchi with passata, Italian cheese board, stewed vegetables. In its heavy version, this wine goes well with all meat-based one-pot dishes, roasts (it makes a good pair especially with pork, which is popular in Poland) and even game dishes and pasta with calorific sauces. It also goes well with curry-based Indian and Asian dishes.