“Tuscans have broken the p…..” Vice Premier Matteo Salvini’s (unfortunate) joke “stolen” during an exchange with Abruzzo President Marco Marsilio. The Caroccio leader had responded thus to the Melonian governor who had said, “Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is better known and exported than Nobile di Toscana.”
“It‘s a good thing that Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Doc exports more than Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Docg, since the production of the Abruzzo Doc exceeds 100 million bottles, compared to 7 million for Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.” The Consorzio del Vino Nobile di Montepulciano responds ironically to the statement externalized by Abruzzo Region Governor Marco Marsilio during an official meeting with Minister Matteo Salvini.
The long-standing dispute between Montepulciano and Abruzzo.
Irony aside, the Consorzio del Vino Nobile di Montepulciano considers Governor Marsilio’s externalization completely inappropriate and untimely, since for more than ten years the Consorzio del Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and the Consorzio Vini d’Abruzzo have been engaged in a dialogue that in 2012 led to an agreement signed by the Ministry of Agricultural Policies, then led by Minister Mario Catania, and the relevant Regions. A “collaboration” document that unfortunately, especially on the Abruzzo front, has evidently never found too much responsiveness in factual practice, and yesterday’s episode is yet another confirmation of this.
Minister Salvini’s unfortunate joke
As for Minister Matteo Salvini’s response, it will eventually be policy to take note of this unfortunate statement by a high representative of the Italian Republic. The Consortium, however, representing the totality of the producers of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, refrains from making political comments, while considering theexternalization serious and offensive to Tuscan citizens and to the thousands of wineries in the region that represent Italy in the world and that, thanks to their efforts, attract millions of visitors a year to the Boot, contributing to strengthening a sector, that of tourism, which represents an important item in the national economic structure. Let us take advantage of this opportunity to invite Minister Salvini to Montepulciano once again, this time outside the electoral campaign, to get to know at first hand the reality of the Poliziana area and the very high quality of its products, with Vino Nobile di Montepulciano at the head.
Montepulciano is in Tuscany, the grape is Sangiovese
The Consorzio del Vino Nobile di Montepulciano returns to strongly reiterate that the “querelle” with Abruzzo cannot be resolved only from one side. Precisely for this reason, as well as for the centuries-old history that binds Tuscan wine to its city, Montepulciano, it has pursued a path with the Region of Tuscany until the modification of the Production Regulations in 2021 with the mandatory inclusion of “Toscana” on the label, precisely to dispense with the market confusion that is created between the two appellations by reaffirming that Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is representative of a Tuscan territory and synonymous with the highest quality.
