On the weathered sandstone plains above Modigliana, in Emilia Romagna’s bucolic south, Sangiovese speaks a different language than its more famed locales in nearby Tuscany. Alcohol levels are lower, acidity is fresher, and there exists a greater prominence of herbal and floral elements. Who better to understand the minutiae of central Italy’s most famous red grape in this lesser-known region than Giorgio Melandri, a wine journalist that has spent the better part of two decades tasting and critiquing the wines of Emilia Romagna for Italy’s famed wine publication, Gambero Rosso. Today, Melandri is driven by the exploration of Modigliana’s vast array of microclimates and geological subzones. Having purchased a few small vineyards and undertaken a few more long-term vineyard contracts, Giorgio crafts 3 wines that intend to showcase each of Modigliana’s 3 major wine growing valleys–Acerreta, Ibbola, and Tramazzo–his transparent, hands-off approach in the winery only working to better amplify the beauty this man sees in Sangiovese from this corner of Italy.