angiovese is clearly a native variety but there are many hypotheses as to the exact origin of its name, which, in the local dialect, is Sanzvès. The most widely accepted explanation was advanced by glottologist F. Schurr, Tribune of the Wines of the Romagna, who died several years ago.According to Schurr, the denomination of the variety was derived from Monte Giove, a hill located in the vicinity of Sant'Angelo di Romagna. That argument is bolstered by a local legend, according to which the Cappuchin friars, who among their other activities cultivated vineyards, were entertaining an illustrious guest one day at their convent, which stood then, as it still does today, on a hill known as Collis Jovis near Sant'Angelo di Romagna. The guest greatly appreciated the friars' wine and asked them its name, which greatly embarrassed the clerics, since they had never thought to give it one. One friar who was faster on the uptake than the others promptly replied that it was called Sanguis di Jovis.
Sanguis di Jovis was soon converted into Sangue di Giove, which was inevitably contracted to Sangiovese.
The first historical accounts of the Sangiovese variety go back to the 17th century.
Toward the end of the 18th century, the "red wine of the Romagna," as it was then known, became popular as Sangiovese, in part because of some short poems written on the occasions of various wedding feasts by Pier Maria De' Minimi and Jacopo Landoni.
