Sangiovese substitute

Best substitute

Chianti, Rosso di Montalcino or Morellino di Scansano

Use the same amount as the sangiovese you are replacing

Best for tomato ragu

Close match

Any other dry Sangiovese-based bottle is a straight swap, so Chianti, Rosso di Montalcino or Morellino at 1:1. If you have none, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo or Barbera at 1:1 are the closest non-Sangiovese matches because they share the high acid and modest oak. A softer red such as Merlot or Pinot Noir also works at 1:1 with 1 teaspoon of red wine vinegar added per cup to make up the missing acidity. That acidity is the whole reason recipes name this grape: in a tomato ragu, an osso buco or a pot roast, Sangiovese's tartness keeps the sauce lively and its light tannin adds savoury grip, so a sweet or heavily oaked red leaves the dish tasting flat and faintly syrupy.

Other sangiovese substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Montepulciano d'Abruzzo or Barbera
Close match
Use the same amount
Two Italian reds with the same high-acid, medium-body, unshowy character, both usually cheap.
What changes
Best for
ragu and red sauces, braises, meatballs, pizza-adjacent dishes, lentils and beans
Barbera is even more acidic than Sangiovese with less tannin, so a braise made with it tastes brighter and a little softer in the finish. Montepulciano is fruitier and rounder, which makes a sauce slightly plumper and less sour-cherry sharp. Both are close enough that the dish reads correctly.
3Nebbiolo, Valpolicella or Cotes du Rhone
Close match
Use the same amount
Dry, savoury, medium-bodied reds that stay in the same lane rather than bringing sweetness or heavy oak.
What changes
Best for
beef and lamb braises, mushroom dishes, risotto, roast pork, stews
Nebbiolo has more tannin, so a long reduction can turn slightly drying and grippy on the tongue; add a small knob of butter at the end to soften it. Valpolicella is lighter and tarter, so the sauce comes out leaner. Cotes du Rhone leans peppery and herbal, which suits lamb particularly well.
4Dry Merlot or Pinot Noir, plus red wine vinegar
Different taste
1 cup wine plus 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
The realistic option when the open bottle is whatever was in the house.
What changes
Best for
braises, ragu, pan sauces, beef stew, deglazing
Both are softer and lower in acid than Sangiovese, so without the vinegar a tomato sauce made with them tastes rounder but a bit dull and slightly sweet. Merlot brings plum and Pinot Noir brings red berry and earth, which is fine in almost any braise. Add the vinegar near the end so its brightness survives.
5Cabernet Sauvignon or a big oaked red
Taste and texture differ
Use three quarters of the amount called for
It works, with caution, and is worth naming because it is often the only red in the house.
What changes
Best for
beef braises, short ribs, pot roast, venison
Cabernet has considerably more tannin and often a green herbal edge, and both concentrate as the liquid reduces, which can leave a tomato sauce tasting harsh and drying rather than bright. Using less, adding a pinch of sugar and finishing with butter all help. This is a better idea in a beef braise than in a delicate tomato or chicken dish.
6Beef stock plus red wine vinegar (no alcohol)
Different taste
1 cup stock plus 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
The alcohol-free version, built around the fact that Sangiovese is mainly contributing acid and savouriness.
What changes
Best for
alcohol-free cooking, ragu, braises, pot roast, family meals
Add the vinegar at the end rather than the start, since long simmering dulls it. Expect a sauce that is savoury and bright but simpler, without the wine's cherry-and-herb aroma or the light tannic structure. A splash of unsweetened cranberry or pomegranate juice adds back some fruit if the dish feels bare.

What is Sangiovese?

Sangiovese is the central Italian red grape behind Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino and Rosso di Montalcino, and its wines are dry, high in acidity and only moderately tannic, tasting of sour cherry, tomato leaf and dried herbs rather than sweet jammy fruit, which is exactly the job a recipe wants from it: tartness that keeps a tomato sauce or a braise lively.

Cooking tips

Choose the youngest, plainest Sangiovese-style bottle for cooking. Oak and bottle age give a wine complexity that a two-hour braise destroys, while acidity and fruit are exactly what survive.
Sangiovese and tomato belong together for a reason: both are acidic, so the wine reinforces the sauce rather than fighting it. If you substitute a low-acid red, taste the sauce at the end and correct with vinegar rather than salt, because what is missing is sharpness, not seasoning.
Reduce the wine before you add stock or tomatoes. Cooking it down by half in the empty pan burns off the raw alcohol and concentrates the fruit, and it takes only a couple of minutes. Adding wine at the same time as everything else leaves a thin, boozy taste in the finished dish.
Sangiovese's tannin is what gives a reduction a slight savoury grip. If the sauce ends up drying or bitter, whisk in a little butter or olive oil off the heat, which coats the tannins and rounds the sauce out.
Never use a bottle sold as cooking wine. Those are salted and oxidised, and in a slow-cooked dish the salt concentrates and can push the whole pot past fixing.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just leave the Sangiovese out?

Yes, in most braises and sauces, as long as you replace the volume with stock so the pot does not dry out. What you lose is acidity and a layer of fruit aroma, so add 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar per cup of stock at the end of cooking and the dish will taste far closer to the original.

Is Sangiovese the same as Chianti?

Chianti is a wine, Sangiovese is the grape it is mostly made from. So every Chianti is essentially a Sangiovese, but Sangiovese is also bottled under its own name and as Brunello di Montalcino, Rosso di Montalcino, Morellino di Scansano and Montefalco Rosso. If a recipe calls for one and you have another, use it one for one.

Can I use a white wine instead?

In a tomato or meat braise it changes the dish considerably: you keep the acidity but lose the colour, the tannin and the dark fruit, so the sauce ends up paler and lighter. It is a reasonable emergency swap in a chicken or pork dish, and a poor one in a beef ragu, where the red wine is part of what makes the sauce taste deep.

How much should I use in a ragu?

About half a cup to a cup for a pot serving four to six is typical, added after browning the meat and reduced until the pan looks nearly dry before the tomatoes go in. More wine than that and the acidity starts to dominate, which a long simmer will not fully soften.

Does a more expensive Sangiovese make a better sauce?

No. A young inexpensive bottle you would happily drink is the right choice. The nuances of an aged Brunello are lost within minutes in a hot pan, and the money is better spent on the meat.

Related substitutes

More alcohol & vinegars substitutes

Sangiovese substitute

Other sangiovese substitutes

2Montepulciano d'Abruzzo or Barbera

3Nebbiolo, Valpolicella or Cotes du Rhone

4Dry Merlot or Pinot Noir, plus red wine vinegar

5Cabernet Sauvignon or a big oaked red

6Beef stock plus red wine vinegar (no alcohol)