Chianti ranges far beyond the old straw-wrapped bottle, and the sangiovese grape ranges far beyond Chianti.

Terry Harris / Knight Ridder

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Sangiovese may hold the dubious distinction of being the wine grape everyone has tried but never heard of. That's because this Italian red grape is usually sold under the name of the area where it is grown — and the most famous is Chianti.

For many Americans, the word "Chianti" conjures up images of bad Italian restaurants, with straw-wrapped bottles of pitiable-quality wine alongside platters of spaghetti in red sauce.

No more.

"(Chianti) has undergone a more profound change in the last 20 years than practically any other wine in Italy," write Joseph Bastianich and David Lynch in "Vino Italiano: The Regional Wines of Italy" (Clarkson Potter, $35).

"The Chianti Classico zone is now a source of world-class reds, bottles you should stick in your cellar a few years, not stick candles into," they declare.

Although plenty of ordinary wine still exists out there, savvy wine drinkers can find satisfaction from Chianti, or its more well-heeled sister, Chianti Classico, which is located in the center of this region in Tuscany.

Then there are the pricier sangiovese siblings from Tuscan towns, brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, to consider. Sangiovese is a major player in a number of other Italian wines, including the so-called Super Tuscans, and it is emerging as a varietal in California.

Consumers need to keep an open mind and rely on their wine merchant to serve as a guide to the modern manifestations of this ancient grape, whose name, sangiovese (san-joh-VAY-zeh), comes from the Latin, "sanguis Jovis," or "the blood of Jove."

Some of sangiovese's woes may be due to the very nature of the grape and American expectations of what a red wine should be.

"When we do a larger tasting that includes California cabs, zins, petite sirah, even Bordeaux, as well as any other big style that's full of lush fruit, sangiovese rarely does well," said Phil Grenier, wine manager at Antioch Fine Wines & Liquors in Antioch, Ill. "From Chianti, the wines are much too astringent and really need the red sauce."

Tom Hyland, who owns North Shore Wine Education in Chicago, describes it as elegant. "I compare sangiovese to pinot noir. It's not over-the-top," he added. "It has a very fresh cherry fruit that appeals to people like pinot noir. The best Italian examples have an earthy, cedary quality."

Mike Baker, wine manager for the Wine Discount Center in Chicago, advised: "Think about how great it is at the table with food…It's the best everyday wine for pizzas and pasta. And, at the higher end, brunellos with age on them go with veal saltimbocca and rib-eyes."