What to Eat and Drink in Montepulciano: A Local's Guide

Montepulciano has two food worlds: the tourist version, which is perfectly adequate and often good, and the local version, which is extraordinary. This guide is about the second one.

The Wines: Start Here

Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG — the reason most visitors come. Produced from Prugnolo Gentile (a Sangiovese clone unique to this town), aged at least 24 months. Look for: cherry, violet, leather, spice. Serve at 16–18°C with decanting for younger vintages. Available from cantina visits, the Enoteca Consortile on Via di Gracciano, and directly from producers.

Rosso di Montepulciano DOC — the everyday wine. Same grape, same producer, younger vines and shorter ageing. Excellent value: good bottles from €10–15. The wine to drink with lunch, with pasta, with salumi. Fruit-forward, fresh, approachable.

Vin Santo di Montepulciano — the dessert wine. Made from dried Malvasia and Trebbiano grapes, aged in small barrels (caratelli) in the attic for 3–10 years. Avignonesi's version is considered Italy's greatest Vin Santo. Serve at 12°C with cantucci (almond biscuits for dipping).

The Food: Must Order

Pici all'aglione — the signature pasta. Thick, handmade spaghetti (no eggs: just flour, water and olive oil) with a sauce of aglione (the giant Valdichiana garlic), tomatoes and olive oil. Simple, extraordinary, deeply local.

Pici al ragù di cinghiale — the same pasta with wild boar ragù. The boar is hunted in the woods around Monte Cetona and the Crete Senesi. The ragù is cooked for hours and has a depth of flavour that no farmed-meat sauce achieves.

Bistecca di Chianina — the great Tuscan steak. Chianina cattle are the local breed of the Valdichiana — one of the oldest cattle breeds in the world, documented in Roman times. The meat is white, lean and extraordinary in flavour. Order it al sangue (rare). With a glass of Vino Nobile.

Ribollita — the Tuscan peasant soup. Cavolo nero (black kale), cannellini beans, day-old bread, olive oil, vegetables. The name means "re-boiled" — it's better the second day. Warming, cheap, perfect in autumn and winter.

Pecorino di Pienza — not technically in Montepulciano, but 14km away at Pienza. The sheep's milk cheese in every stage of ripeness: fresco (fresh, milky, delicate), semi-stagionato (firmer, more flavour), stagionato (aged, crumbly, intense), affinato in grotta (cave-aged, earthy, extraordinary). Buy it at Pienza directly from the producers.

The Olive Oil

The olive oil of Montepulciano and the Valdichiana is produced primarily from Frantoio, Leccino and Moraiolo olives — harvested early (October) to preserve the characteristic green, pungent, peppery character. The freshest oil (from the November pressing) is called olio nuovo — vivid green, intensely bitter, with an extraordinary finish. If you're visiting in November, buy a bottle.

Where to Find the Best

The Saturday market (outside the walls): the freshest local produce, the best prices, the most authentic selection. Arrive before 10am.

Enoteca Consortile (Via di Gracciano): the official wine shop of the Consorzio del Vino Nobile. The best selection of all Montepulciano wines, with knowledgeable staff and reasonable prices.

Directly at the cantina: most producers sell direct. Prices are usually better than any shop, and you get the story of each wine from the people who made it.

The Eramo experiences: for the finest curated tasting of local food and wine in a private setting, our Tuscan Roots Oil & Wine, Sunset Wine Tasting and Chef's Secret Table offer what no restaurant or cantina can replicate — a complete, guided narrative of the territory through its best products.