For red wines two varieties dominate, Sangiovese and Montepulciano, which is one of the great confusions of Italian wine. Where in the name of the wine does Montepulciano appear? If it says Montepulciano di something, or just appears in the list of grape names then it is a grape. If it is di Montepulciano, then it`s the place, a fab village in Tuscany. Umbria has Orvieto through Sagrantino, the light white from the south contrasts with the huge red from the north. Abruzzo has Montepulciano (the grape) and the best, some would say the only drinkable Trebbiano in Italy. Lazio has some interesting emerging wine regions in the north, centred on Castiglione in Teverina – also part of the Orvieto zone. And to a lesser extent Viterbo, as well as the Est, Est, Est of Montefiascone, which is also showing signs of improvement. Top producer in northern Lazio is Riccardo Cottarello, one of Italy`s high profile wine consultants as well as owner of Falesco. Southern Lazio supplies oceans of Frascati to help keep hot and sweaty Rome refreshed. (CW 23/01/12)