Sangiovese is Italy's most planted red grape, the backbone of Chianti and Brunello di Montalcino, known for high acid, firm tannin, and a core of sour cherry fruit. California growers spent decades trying and mostly failing to make it work here, then largely gave up on it. A small number of sites, including two we work with at Coteau Pavot, are proving it was worth the second look.
What Is Sangiovese?
Sangiovese is a red grape native to central Italy, most closely associated with Tuscany, where it makes up roughly half of all vineyard plantings and forms the base of nearly every well-known red wine the region produces (Decanter). It shows up under a handful of local names depending on where it is grown and which clone is planted. In Montalcino, the Sangiovese Grosso clone is called Brunello. In Montepulciano, a related clone is called Prugnolo Gentile. All of them are sangiovese underneath.
Its Italian dominance comes down to reliability and range. Sangiovese can be light and food-friendly in an everyday Chianti or dense and cellar-worthy in Brunello di Montalcino, which by law must be 100% sangiovese and aged a minimum of five years before release. That range, from Tuesday-night red to serious, age-worthy wine, is part of why it has stayed Italy's most-planted grape for generations.
What Does Sangiovese Wine Taste Like?
Sangiovese is defined by tart red cherry and sour cherry fruit, often with a savory, herbal edge, dried oregano or thyme, and sometimes a note of tomato leaf or dried tobacco. Acid is high, which is part of what makes it such a natural match for food. Tannin is firm and can be rustic in youth, softening with age or with careful handling in the cellar. It is rarely a fruit bomb. Even in its riper California expressions, sangiovese tends to stay savory rather than jammy, and the acid keeps it feeling lifted rather than heavy.
Sangiovese vs. Chianti: What's the Difference?
This trips up a lot of people, understandably. Sangiovese is a grape. Chianti is a place, and a wine made there. Chianti DOCG rules require a minimum of 70% sangiovese, with the remainder allowed to be other approved varieties, while Chianti Classico requires at least 80% (VinePair). So every Chianti is made mostly or entirely from sangiovese, but not every sangiovese wine is a Chianti. A sangiovese grown in Mendocino or Lodi, made as a single varietal wine, is sangiovese in the glass, just not Chianti, because it is not from that place and does not follow that region's rules. Same grape, different address, different label logic. Brunello di Montalcino follows the same principle in reverse: it is 100% sangiovese, from a specific place, aged longer, and it never calls itself Chianti even though the grape is identical.
Why Did Sangiovese Struggle in California?
Italian immigrants planted sangiovese in California as far back as the late nineteenth century, but the grape's modern California story really starts with the "Cal-Ital" movement of the 1980s and 90s, when a wave of producers, inspired partly by Antinori's Sangiovese planting on Atlas Peak in Napa, tried to replicate Tuscany's success stateside (VinePair). Plantings peaked around 2001 and have been shrinking pretty steadily since. Sangiovese turned out to be a genuinely difficult grape to grow well outside its home climate. It is prone to overcropping, which dilutes flavor and softens the structure that makes the wine interesting in the first place. It also ripens unevenly and needs the kind of long, moderate growing season that a lot of California's warmer valleys simply do not offer. A lot of early California sangiovese ended up soft, fruit-forward, and forgettable, missing the acid and savory bite that make the Italian versions worth drinking. Today there are only around 1,500 acres of sangiovese planted in California, a fraction of the state's Cabernet Sauvignon acreage, and most of what remains is concentrated in a handful of sites where growers have figured out what the grape actually wants: lower yields, careful site selection, and patience (Wine Spectator).
Coteau Pavot's Two Sangiovese Sites
We work with two sangiovese sites, and they could not be more different from each other, which is part of what makes them interesting side by side.
The 2024 Venturi Vineyard Sangiovese comes from a dry-farmed heritage vineyard in Mendocino. Dry-farmed means no irrigation, which forces the vines to root deep and naturally limits yield, the kind of low-vigor stress that sangiovese actually rewards. Heritage vines that have been in the ground a long time tend to self-regulate in a way that younger, heavily irrigated vineyards do not, and that shows up as more concentrated, more savory fruit.
The 2023 River's Edge Vineyard Sangiovese is grown in Clements Hills AVA, within the greater Lodi region. Clements Hills sits at higher elevation than much of Lodi, with rocky, well-drained soils that push the vines to work and keep berries small and flavor concentrated. It is a warmer site than Venturi, so the wine tends to show riper fruit, but the acid and tannin structure that define sangiovese are still there.
We ferment both with minimal intervention and keep additions to what each wine needs to finish dry, the same practice across our label. We are not going to invent exact maceration numbers for you, since that shifts by vintage and lot, but our general approach with sangiovese, as with everything else we make, fits the same unfiltered, unfined philosophy we apply across the portfolio: let the fruit and the site drive the wine rather than engineering it into a particular style.
What Food Pairs with Sangiovese?
Sangiovese's acid and tannin make it one of the best all-purpose food wines around.
Tomato sauce. This is the classic pairing for a reason. Sangiovese's acid matches tomato's acid, so neither one overwhelms the other, whether it is a simple marinara or a Sunday ragù.
Grilled meats. Grilled sausage, pork chops, or a steak with char benefit from the wine's tannin and acid, which cut through fat and richness.
Aged cheese. A firm, salty cheese like pecorino or aged parmesan plays well against the wine's savory, herbal side.
Mushroom dishes. Earthy, umami-forward food, from a mushroom risotto to a porcini pasta, works with sangiovese's dried herb and earth notes.
It is less suited to delicate fish or very sweet dishes, where its acid and tannin can feel out of place. Put it next to something rustic, tomato-based, or grilled, and it is hard to go wrong.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is sangiovese the same as Chianti? No. Sangiovese is the grape. Chianti is a wine made mostly or entirely from sangiovese in a specific region of Tuscany, governed by its own rules. All Chianti is sangiovese-based, but not all sangiovese is Chianti.
What does sangiovese taste like? Expect tart red cherry, high acid, firm tannin, and savory, herbal notes like dried oregano or tomato leaf. It is a food-driven wine rather than a fruit-forward one.
Why is sangiovese hard to grow in California? The grape needs a long, moderate growing season and low yields to develop real character. Many California sites are warmer or push higher yields than sangiovese wants, which can leave the wine soft and short on the acid and structure that define it.
Is Brunello di Montalcino the same grape as Chianti? Yes. Brunello is made from a specific clone of sangiovese called Sangiovese Grosso, grown around Montalcino, and must be 100% sangiovese by law. Chianti allows other grapes alongside sangiovese and requires a lower minimum percentage.
Does California sangiovese taste like Italian sangiovese? Not exactly, and it should not try to. Site and climate shift the profile, so California sangiovese from a place like Mendocino or Clements Hills reflects its own soil and weather rather than imitating Tuscany.
Brian Hurley is co-founder of Coteau Pavot.
If you want to taste both sites side by side, our wine club regularly features our sangiovese bottlings.