If you like this, try…
Wines like Sagrantino
Umbria’s ferociously tannic variety, with among the highest measured tannin levels of any wine grape. Below: what to try next, grouped by the direction you want to travel.
Refine
What do you like about Sagrantino?
Optional — the results below already work without it. But “I like Malbec” is at least four different preferences wearing one name, and saying which one you mean changes the answer substantially. Only qualities this wine actually has are offered.
What these words mean
- The firm, grippy structure
- High tannin — the drying grip on your gums, like over-brewed tea. It gives a red something to hold on to with rich food, and it is what lets a wine age.
- How full and weighty it is
- Body is how much the wine seems to fill your mouth — the difference between skimmed and whole milk. It comes mostly from alcohol and ripeness.
- The vanilla and oak
- Vanilla, toast, coconut, sweet spice, sometimes smoke. It comes from the barrel rather than the grape, which is why the same grape can taste completely different with and without it.
- The savoury, meaty side
- Leather, olive, cured meat, dried herbs, tobacco. It is what people mean by calling a wine "serious" rather than "fruity", and it comes with age as well as with place.
- The earthy, mineral side
- Forest floor, wet stone, mushroom, damp earth. Widely described and much less well explained than wine writing implies — the sensation is real, the causal story usually is not.
- The touch of sweetness
- Actual sugar left in the wine, which is a different thing from tasting fruity. A wine can smell of ripe peach and be completely dry.
Looking for something moving away from too sweet, too heavy and too earthy or musty.
Based on what you said
Ranked against the qualities you named rather than against the wine as a whole. The directions below are refined the same way.
Corvina
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
- Substantially less sweet.
- Substantially less heavy.
- Substantially less earthy or musty.
Valpolicella Ripasso
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
- Substantially less sweet.
- Substantially less heavy.
- Substantially less earthy or musty.
Corvinone
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
- Substantially less sweet.
- Substantially less heavy.
- Substantially less earthy or musty.
California Cabernet Sauvignon
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
- Substantially less sweet.
- Substantially less heavy.
- Substantially less earthy or musty.
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure, and both come from the same country.
- Substantially less sweet.
- Substantially less heavy.
- Substantially less earthy or musty.
Nero d’Avola
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure, and both come from the same country.
- Substantially less sweet.
- Substantially less heavy.
- Substantially less earthy or musty.
Montepulciano
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure, and both come from the same country.
- Substantially less sweet.
- Substantially less heavy.
- Substantially less earthy or musty.
Rosso di Montalcino
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure, and both come from the same country.
- Substantially less sweet.
- Substantially less heavy.
- Substantially less earthy or musty.
Closest overall
Nearest neighbours, no change of direction.
Closest matches
The nearest overall neighbours across structure and flavour, with no deliberate change of direction.
Corvina
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be cleaner and more fruit-focused, and less tannic and softer.
Valpolicella Ripasso
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be cleaner and more fruit-focused, and less tannic and softer.
Corvinone
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be cleaner and more fruit-focused, and less tannic and softer.
California Cabernet Sauvignon
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be cleaner and more fruit-focused, and less tannic and softer.
Different grape, similar feel
Deliberately excludes the variety you already know, to find a genuinely new wine that fills the same role.
Corvina
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be cleaner and more fruit-focused, and less tannic and softer.
Valpolicella Ripasso
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be cleaner and more fruit-focused, and less tannic and softer.
Corvinone
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be cleaner and more fruit-focused, and less tannic and softer.
California Cabernet Sauvignon
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be cleaner and more fruit-focused, and less tannic and softer.
Change the structure
Same idea, different weight, grip or freshness.
Similar but lighter
Keeps the character but reduces weight, alcohol and density in the mouth.
Agiorgitiko
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and cleaner and more fruit-focused.
Alentejo red
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and cleaner and more fruit-focused.
Argentine Cabernet Franc
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and cleaner and more fruit-focused.
Barbera d’Alba
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and cleaner and more fruit-focused.
Similar but lower in alcohol
Holds the character and the weight where it can, and moves specifically on strength. Note that below about 11% the choices narrow sharply, and below 5% they are mostly a different category rather than a lighter version of the same one.
Corvina
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be cleaner and more fruit-focused, and less tannic and softer.
Valpolicella Ripasso
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be cleaner and more fruit-focused, and less tannic and softer.
Rosso di Montalcino
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and cleaner and more fruit-focused.
Barbera d’Asti
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and cleaner and more fruit-focused.
Similar but fuller
Keeps the character but adds weight, concentration and mouthfeel.
Nothing in WineHQ's catalogue makes this move meaningfully from here. These are the closest wines otherwise, but do not expect them to deliver what you asked for — the honest answer is that this style does not have a good neighbour in that direction.
Valpolicella Ripasso
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be cleaner and more fruit-focused, and less tannic and softer.
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and cleaner and more fruit-focused.
Nero d’Avola
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and cleaner and more fruit-focused.
Montepulciano
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and cleaner and more fruit-focused.
Similar but less tannic
For readers who find firm reds drying. Reduces tannic grip while holding flavour and weight roughly steady.
Agiorgitiko
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and cleaner and more fruit-focused.
Alentejo red
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and cleaner and more fruit-focused.
California Cabernet Sauvignon
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be cleaner and more fruit-focused, and less tannic and softer.
Merlot
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and cleaner and more fruit-focused.
Similar but fresher
Raises acidity and overall lift, usually by moving to a cooler-climate expression.
Rosso di Montalcino
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and cleaner and more fruit-focused.
Refosco
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and cleaner and more fruit-focused.
Barbera d’Asti
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and cleaner and more fruit-focused.
Barbera d’Alba
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and cleaner and more fruit-focused.
Similar but softer
Lowers acidity and sharpness in favour of a broader, gentler feel.
California Cabernet Sauvignon
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be cleaner and more fruit-focused, and less tannic and softer.
Montepulciano
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and cleaner and more fruit-focused.
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and cleaner and more fruit-focused.
Merlot
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and cleaner and more fruit-focused.
The sparkling version
Moves to a sparkling expression while holding the flavour and weight as close as possible.
Sparkling Shiraz
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be sweeter, and cleaner and more fruit-focused.
Lambrusco
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be lighter, and cleaner and more fruit-focused.
Lambrusco Grasparossa
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be lighter, and sweeter.
Franciacorta
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be lighter, and cleaner and more fruit-focused.
Similar but drier
Reduces perceptible sugar while keeping aromatic character.
Corvina
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be cleaner and more fruit-focused, and less tannic and softer.
Valpolicella Ripasso
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be cleaner and more fruit-focused, and less tannic and softer.
Corvinone
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be cleaner and more fruit-focused, and less tannic and softer.
California Cabernet Sauvignon
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be cleaner and more fruit-focused, and less tannic and softer.
Similar but sweeter
Adds perceptible sweetness, which also softens acidity and chilli heat.
Tawny Port
Tawny Port scores closest to Sagrantino across WineHQ’s taste dimensions.
Expect: Expect it to be sweeter, and cleaner and more fruit-focused.
Ruby Port
Ruby Port scores closest to Sagrantino across WineHQ’s taste dimensions.
Expect: Expect it to be sweeter, and cleaner and more fruit-focused.
Port
Port scores closest to Sagrantino across WineHQ’s taste dimensions.
Expect: Expect it to be sweeter, and fuller and richer.
Vintage Port
Vintage Port scores closest to Sagrantino across WineHQ’s taste dimensions.
Expect: Expect it to be sweeter, and fuller and richer.
Change the flavour
Same shape, different aromatic character.
Similar but less oaky
One of the commonest requests in wine. Strips oak influence while holding grape character and weight.
Bobal
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and cleaner and more fruit-focused.
Cornalin
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and cleaner and more fruit-focused.
Corvinone
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be cleaner and more fruit-focused, and less tannic and softer.
Nero di Troia
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and cleaner and more fruit-focused.
Similar but more oaky
Adds barrel character, toast and a creamier texture.
California Cabernet Sauvignon
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be cleaner and more fruit-focused, and less tannic and softer.
Pinotage
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be earthier, and less oaky.
Rioja
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and earthier.
Tempranillo
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and earthier.
Similar but more aromatic
More to smell before you taste — floral, fruity or spiced aromatics.
Malbec
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and cleaner and more fruit-focused.
Gamay
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be lighter, and drier.
Cabernet Sauvignon
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and more herbal and green.
Syrah
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and earthier.
Similar but more restrained
For readers who find intensely aromatic wines tiring over a whole glass. Keeps the structure, turns the volume down.
Trebbiano d’Abruzzo
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and lighter.
Palomino Fino
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and lighter.
Vernaccia di San Gimignano
Both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be lighter, and drier.
Pinot Blanc
Pinot Blanc scores closest to Sagrantino across WineHQ’s taste dimensions.
Expect: Expect it to be lighter, and drier.
Similar but more floral
Pushes specifically towards rose, violet, blossom and elderflower character.
Malbec
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and cleaner and more fruit-focused.
Gamay
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be lighter, and drier.
Argentine Cabernet Franc
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and cleaner and more fruit-focused.
Hawke’s Bay Syrah
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and cleaner and more fruit-focused.
Similar but more savoury
Moves away from primary fruit towards earth, herb, meat and umami character.
Taurasi
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be earthier, and drier.
Chianti Classico Riserva
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be earthier, and drier.
Barolo
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be earthier, and drier.
Rioja Gran Reserva
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be earthier, and drier.
Similar but fruitier
More obvious, generous fruit flavour, usually from a warmer climate.
California Cabernet Sauvignon
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be cleaner and more fruit-focused, and less tannic and softer.
Barbera d’Alba
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and cleaner and more fruit-focused.
Zinfandel
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be cleaner and more fruit-focused, and stronger and warmer.
California Rhône blend
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and cleaner and more fruit-focused.
Change the place
Keep the grape, move it somewhere else.
Same grape, cooler climate
Typically fresher, lighter and more herbal, with lower alcohol.
Nothing in WineHQ's catalogue makes this move meaningfully from here. These are the closest wines otherwise, but do not expect them to deliver what you asked for — the honest answer is that this style does not have a good neighbour in that direction.
Same grape, warmer climate
Typically riper, fuller and more generous in fruit, with higher alcohol.
Nothing in WineHQ's catalogue makes this move meaningfully from here. These are the closest wines otherwise, but do not expect them to deliver what you asked for — the honest answer is that this style does not have a good neighbour in that direction.
Change the mood
Safer, stranger, cheaper or more serious.
A safe next step
Well-known wines that are widely available and unlikely to surprise anyone.
California Cabernet Sauvignon
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be cleaner and more fruit-focused, and less tannic and softer.
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and cleaner and more fruit-focused.
Cabernet Sauvignon
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and more herbal and green.
Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and cleaner and more fruit-focused.
Something more adventurous
Less familiar wines that occupy similar territory — the interesting end of the shelf.
Corvina
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be cleaner and more fruit-focused, and less tannic and softer.
Valpolicella Ripasso
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be cleaner and more fruit-focused, and less tannic and softer.
Corvinone
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be cleaner and more fruit-focused, and less tannic and softer.
Nero d’Avola
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and cleaner and more fruit-focused.
A better-value alternative
Wines that occupy similar sensory territory from regions carrying less price premium. WineHQ does not hold live prices, so this reasons from regional reputation and demand rather than from a price feed — treat it as a lead, not a quote.
Corvina
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be cleaner and more fruit-focused, and less tannic and softer.
Valpolicella Ripasso
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be cleaner and more fruit-focused, and less tannic and softer.
Corvinone
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be cleaner and more fruit-focused, and less tannic and softer.
Nero d’Avola
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and cleaner and more fruit-focused.
A step up
The benchmark expressions of the same territory, usually with more concentration, structure and ageing potential.
Nothing in WineHQ's catalogue makes this move meaningfully from here. These are the closest wines otherwise, but do not expect them to deliver what you asked for — the honest answer is that this style does not have a good neighbour in that direction.
Amarone della Valpolicella
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be fuller and richer, and cleaner and more fruit-focused.
Brunello di Montalcino
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be earthier, and drier.
Barolo
They occupy similar territory for weight and structure, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be earthier, and drier.
Sangiovese
The structural profile is close across body, acidity and tannin, and both come from the same country.
Expect: Expect it to be drier, and earthier.
Each suggestion is scored across sixteen taste dimensions, weighted so that structure matters more than flavour, and adjusted for whether the wine actually moves in the direction you asked for. Curated links from an editor carry extra weight — but only when the editor tagged them for this direction. Nothing here is a black box; see the taste model for the full method.