[5] Sangiovese Grosso, used for traditionally powerful and slow maturing red wines, is primarily grown in the central regions of Italy, particularly in Tuscany, where it is the dominant grape variety.

Here, Sangiovese thrives in various subregions, including Chianti, Montalcino, and Montepulciano, whose diverse terroirs winemakers put to good use to craft wines that reflect the land's unique nuances.

Sangiovese's ability to express terroir and age gracefully has earned it a revered status among wine enthusiasts worldwide, cementing its place as one of Italy's most cherished grape varieties.

Sangiovese is also cultivated in other parts of central Italy, such as Umbria and Marche, where it is sometimes blended for the production of notable wines like Sagrantino di Montefalco and Rosso Conero.

Recent DNA profiling by José Vouillamoz of the Istituto Agrario di San Michele all’Adige suggests that Sangiovese's ancestors are Ciliegiolo and Calabrese Montenuovo.

According to legend, the name was coined by monks from the commune of Santarcangelo di Romagna in what became the province of Rimini in the Emilia-Romagna region of east-central Italy.

In addition to support of fewer genetic markers, this alternative theory is disputed by geneticists such as José Vouillamoz and Masters of Wine like Jancis Robinson because Muscat Rouge de Madère has no history of ever being cultivated in Italy (where it could have crossed with Sangiovese).

[6] In the late 20th century, research by the Italian government and Chianti Classico Consorizo discovered that some of the best producing clones, from a wine quality perspective, came from the Emilia-Romagna region where they are today being propagated under the names R24 and T19.

Planting vines in high densities in order to curb vigor may have the adverse effect of increasing foliage and limiting the amount of direct sunlight that can reach the ripening grapes.

[13] Modern winemakers have devised many techniques trying to find ways to add body and texture to Sangiovese — ranging from using grapes that come from extremely low yielding vines, to adjusting the temperature and length of fermentation and employing extensive oak treatment.

One historical technique is the blending of other grape varieties with Sangiovese, in order to complement its attractive qualities and fill in the gaps of some of its weaker points.

[6] Other techniques used to improve the quality of Sangiovese include extending the maceration period from 7–12 days to 3–4 weeks to give the must more time to leach vital phenols out of the grape skins.

In California the grape found a sudden surge of popularity in the late 1980s with the "Cal-Ital" movement of winemakers seeking red wine alternatives to the standard French varietals of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Pinot noir.

However, at the turn of the 21st century, Italy was still the leading source for Sangiovese, with 69,790 hectares (172,500 acres) planted in 2000, primarily in the Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna, Sicily, Abruzzo and Marche regions.

DOC regulation that stipulate the relatively bland Trebbiano and Malvasia grapes needed to account for at least 10% of the finished blend, with consequent higher acidity and diluted flavours.

Some wineries trucked in full bodied and jammy red wines from Sicily and Apulia to add color and alcohol to the blend—an illegal practice that did little to improve the quality of Chianti.

Traditional Sangiovese emphasize herbal and bitter cherry notes, while more modern, Bordeaux-influenced wines have more plum and mulberry fruit with vanilla oak and spice.

[13] In the mid-19th century, a local farmer named Clemente Santi isolated certain plantings of Sangiovese vines in order to produce a 100% varietal wine that could be aged for a considerable period of time.

[16] In 1888, his grandson Ferruccio Biondi-Santi—a veteran soldier who fought under Giuseppe Garibaldi during the Risorgimento—released the first "modern version" of Brunello di Montalcino, which was aged for over a decade in large wood barrels.

Like its neighboring Tuscan brother, Sangiovese di Romagna has shown itself to spring off a variety of clones that can produce a wide range of quality—from very poor to very fine.

The grape seems to produce the highest quality wine in the sandstone and clay rich hills south of the Via Emilia near the Apennines which is covered by much of the Sangiovese di Romagna DOC zone.

Here it is often blended with Sciaccarello and is a permitted grape in several Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC)s, most notable in Patrimonio, where it is used for both red and rosé wine production.

[10] In Greece, producers in the northeastern wine region of Drama in East Macedonia and Thrace are experimenting with oak-aged "Super Tuscan" style blends of Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon.

By 2003, that number rose to nearly 3,000 acres (1,200 ha) with plantings across the state, most notably in Napa Valley, Sonoma county, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and the Sierra Foothills.

Recent years have focused on improving vineyard site and clonal selection as well as giving the vines time to age and develop in quality.

[19][20] In Canada, there are less than 10 acres (4.0 ha) of Sangiovese planted, mostly in Ontario where some producers in Niagara-on-the-Lake are experimenting with ice wine versions of the grape.

Early site and clonal selection was less than ideal and, like California and Australia, recent endeavors have focused on finding the best clones to use and the right vineyard locations.

[23] Different regions will impart varietal character on the wine with Tuscan Sangiovese having a distinctive bitter-sweet component of cherry, violets and tea.

Argentine examples showing a hybrid between the Tuscan and California Sangiovese with juicy red fruit wines that end on a bitter cherry note.

Varietal Sangiovese or those with a smaller proportion of the powerful, full-bodied Cabernet blended in, can accentuate the flavours of relatively bland dishes like meatloaf and roast chicken.