The history of Montepulciano has always been intimately linked to its famous vineyards and its wine. For instance, the presence, in its historic centre, of centuries-old wine cellars, nowadays considered as real works of art, and testifying to how old is the art of wine making, is quite unique. The extensive documentation compiled and the research carried out on the Politian town confirms this connection. In his book "Bacco in Toscana" (1685), Francesco Redi wrote "Montepulciano d'ogni vino è il Re" (Montepulciano is the king of all wines). Voltaire in his famous "Candide" (1759) made mentioned of the "maccheroni, pernici di Lombardia e vino di Montepulciano". Over the years, the image of the Vino Nobile of Montepulciano has travelled the oceans. Two presidents of the United States were among its famous admirers, namely Thomas Jefferson and Martin Van Buren, further testimony to the centuries-old history of this wine.

The Vino Nobile di Montepulciano was one of the first high quality and most renowned Italian wines to have gained the DOC label (controlled denomination of origin) on July 12th 1966, while it was the first in Italy to have gained the DOCG label (controlled and guaranteed denomination of origin), placing it among Italy's best wines ever.

The production zone of the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is strictly limited to a part of the said Commune: that is the area between 250 and 600 a.s.l.. Thus, only a tiny section of the territory has specific vine-growing and winemaking features. In fact, the quality of the wine produced may be ascribed to the geological characteristics of the area.

Other renowned wines of the area are the Rosso of Montepulciano DOC, the Bianco Vergine DOC of the Val di Chiana, the Chianti Colli Senesi DOC and the high-quality and famous Vin Santi DOC.