Montenidoli is the hill of the little nests; higher up the slopes are the Triassic terrains, the oldest in Tuscany, rich with minerals for the red wines, whilst further down are Quaternary terrains on the slopes, where the calcareous sediments left by the Ligurian Sea feed the white wines and enrich their perfumes.
The Etruscans were the first to discover this treasure and plant their vines, followed by the Romans and the Knights Templar. Elisabetta and family arrived in 1965 to see how they could capture the wonderful potential of the terroir.
Montenidoli’s vineyards are organically grown. For fifty years no herbicide, insecticides or any other chemicals have been used. This is a microclimate brimming with life. The vineyards are aglow with fireflies by night and dancing with ladybugs by day. Sulphur and copper are the only substances used to treat infection. And only if absolutely necessary, because sunlight and clean air are perceived to be the best medicine to make the vines healthy, strong, and resistant to disease and bad weather.
Work in the vineyard is vigorous and vines are monitored from the time the first buds appear in the spring, whereupon a preliminary selection of bunches is made. Before the invaiatura (or veraison) the grape bunches are checked. Grapes tend to reach optimal maturity between the end of September and the first week of October. The harvest is by hand, with an initial selection of bunches, which are laid flat in small baskets for their trip to the winery.
The bunches destined to go into the various wines are divided up, de-stemmed, and set to macerate in chilled tanks. Only the white grapes destined to become Vernaccia Tradizionale are pressed and following the old tradition the must macerates at length with the skins and is pressed as soon as the fermentation begins, to extract the flavour of the terroir.
Featured Wines
Tradizionale
Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG
2022
“We are back to the old way of Vernaccia, which was vinified like a red. In the past you had to wait to drink it after summer, and, if it was not yellow enough, you had to put some caramel with it in order to add colour. Today it is still a rich, exuberant and pleasant white wine.”
Fiore
Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG
2021
“The true Vernaccia. The free run juice goes directly to the vats and, after fermentation, refines on the lees for a long time. It is the purest expression of Vernaccia di San Gimignano.”
Carato
Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG
2020
“Fermentation in wood follows the style of the Templars, giving this white an echo of Burgundy. It becomes a rich white, a nose full of different perfumes, full in the body and long in the aftertaste.”