Montepulciano d’A
Absolutely
I had a Valpolicella with a red-sauced pizza in Verona that was a great pairing.
Valpo and Montipulciano d’Abruzzo have to be the least tannic reds in the Italian portfolio. Anything else in that range? Nero d’avola? Cerasuolo?
Whenever or however they met, I think that was the beginning of a beautiful friendship…
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As I was reading the replies my mind wandered this direction as well. One option I don’t think I saw that came to mind is Etna Rosso. I’ve enjoyed bottles paired with red sauce based dishes before, so I think the spice would be my only question. If it’s not a super spicy sauce I’d think the pairing could work well but others may have a better sense as I don’t drink a ton of Etna Rosso.
It has been a while since i last had one but recall Piedirosso as low tannin.
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Pelaverga.
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When it comes to pizza (and acidic tomato sauces in general), I prefer dry white wines (unoaked assyrtiko for example).
Barbera.
And that Pelaverga, too.
The Valpolicella varieties, on the other hand, are not particularly low in tannins. Most entry-level Valpolicellas are vinified with very little extraction, so the wines are typically quite low in tannins, but there are exceptions, too.
The same with Montepulciano - I’ve had some very firm and tannic wines. For example Valentini’s and Pepe’s Montepulcianos often pack quite a bit of punch.
Thanks Otto.
Ye the references I made were to the wines in Veneto, not necessarily the grapes themselves.
As you note, that is based on winemaking techniques
Montepuliciano, can be made into a much more powerful wine, as you again point out. But the majority are not made in that style. It’s very easy to over generalize in the wine world. I’m quite skilled at it. There are always a few winemakers out there to prove me wrong.