Umani Ronchi Montepulciano D'Abruzzo 2016

Set against the picturesque Italian vineyards of Cupramontana, a powerful tale of age-old traditions and ancient lands emerges. Riddled with romance, scandal, betrayal, revenge, dynasties and lots and lots of... plums. Plums being our protagonist in what you'd be forgiven for thinking was the start of a good old Marian Keyes novel.

Instead, this is the tale of Umani Ronchi, winemaking extraordinaire producing a medium bodied red wine, jam-packed with...you guessed it, ripe plummy fruit flavours. There's nothing fictional about this wine. It's a fact that it's of excellent quality and it provides one hell of a happy ending.

The Umani Ronchi story goes back more than half a century ago in the heart of Verdicchio Classico country. Today, the estate is owned and run by the Bianchi-Bernetti family who have made superb-quality craft wines since 1959. With vineyards in Marche and Abruzzo, Michele Bernetti and his father, Massimo, coax the best out of the Verdicchio and Montepulciano grapes to find their finest expression.

Michele and Massimo encourage innovation and experimentation within winemaking, which is why they invest their time in specially training the team of young agronomists and oenologists as well as taking care of their land. Giacomo Mattiolo, Umani Ronchi’s young and current oenologist, joined the winery in his early twenties, growing his knowledge and following the winery’s progress for more than ten years.

All of the vineyards are farmed organically as the winery is driven by strong ethics and a respect for the environment.

Using one of the most widespread indigenous varieties in Italy, Umani Ronchi’s Montepulciano D’Abruzzo aims to encapsulate the varietal characteristics in this fresh, medium bodied, dry red wine. It offers a sense of charm with a finely textured structure and delicious ripe, plummy fruits on the palate.