an interview with the fontodi winery, tuscan high quality wine producers - the florence newspaper

An Interview with the Fontodi Winery, Tuscan High Quality Wine Producers

The 18th edition of the Merano Wine Festival and Gourmet will start in less than a month (November 6th-9th) in the amazing Kurhaus building. Here all the wine-passionates and professionals meet yearly to taste the best of Italian and International wines.

Last year’s show was a huge success; not only due to its outstanding organization of events but also for the excellent quality of wines presented. During our tour, the wine that really excited us most was the Flaccianello della Pieve 2006; the top wine of the Fontodi Winery.

This past September we decided to visit the Fontodi winery to better understand how such a high quality product is born and produced. The route that connects Siena with Panzano in the Chianti region is, in one word: amazing. A dreamy, post card’s scenic view comes to life; with the vineyards one after the other immersed in this gorgeous landscape and explosions of colors, perfumes and an uncontaminated nature.

As soon as we arrived to the ”Conca d’Oro” (the southern part of Panzano in Chianti where the Fontodi Winery vineyards lay), we were welcomed by the winery factotum, Silvano. He took on the role as our tour guide (and our mentor Virgil) through the various locations where the wine is produced. We entered in the wine tasting room and we started our interview with the first question:

What exactly is the ”Conca d’Oro”?

”We have to consider the mythical Conca d’Oro as a natural amphiteathre which gives us the means to reach an extremely high quality of wine growing thanks to the unique combination of the altitude (max 450 mt – min 350 mt above sea level), the nature of the ground (which perfectly drains the rain and makes the roots grow deeper, catching the important mineral salts for its metabolism), the incredible brightness and a fantastic micro-climate (hot, dry and windy with an important thermic range)”.

How was the Fontodi Winery created?

”The Manetti family, who for centuries had produced terracotta, bought the Fontodi Winery (which name comes from the latin ”Fons-odi”, and where the vineyards have been cultivated since the roman period) in 1968. Initially, they bought just 25 acres, but they now have 370 acres, and out of these: 173 acres are vineyards divided in 90% for the production of Sangiovese and the other 10% Syrah, Pinot Nero, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malvasia and Sauvignon Blanc.”

How many bottles are produced every year?

”We produce approximately 300 thousand bottles, divided in 170 thousand of Chianti Classico, 30 thousand of Chianti Classico Riserva, 4 thousand of Pinot Nero, 10 thousand of Syrah, 5 thousand of Sauvignon Blanc and 60 thousand of pure Sangiovese (Flaccianello della Pieve)”.

After all these numbers and in front of the various bottles ready for the tasting, we approached the wine tasting, starting with the Chianti Classico 2007.

Which is the position of the Fontodi Winery in regards to the environment?

”Fontodi is a certified biological winery, associated to the ”Panzano Winemakers”. Our goal is to develop an organic farming based on natural and eco-sustainabile principles”.

What do you mean by eco-sustainability?

“It means having a great respect of the environment, avoiding the usage of chemical products. In other words, our vineyards are fed with a special compost created by the mix of pruning waste and manure, which comes from our Chianina farming. Respecting the environment means preserving the integrity of the territory and at the same time we also get the chance to create the basis for excellent quality wines.”

As far as I understand, the first thing to do to obtain a good wine is to take care of the vineyards and pay extreme attention to the integrity of the territory.

“Yes, that’s right, during the vegetative course, we live in the vineyard 24 hours per day, to obtain the best raw material possible. Only proceeding in this direction we can meet again all the flavours and the characteristic that are typical of our territory all contained in a glass of our wines.”

While continuing our talk with Silvano, we proceed with the tasting of Fontodi’s Pinot Nero 2007. The peculiarities of this wine are the perfumes, the elegance and the structure, which make it one of the best Pinot produced in Italy.

September is the harvest month, the result of an entire year of work, the hardest period but also the most gratifying.

“To better understand the beauty of the harvest time, but also the hard work that this period requests, you simply have to participate in it! We first select the bunches manually in the vineyard, putting them into 3 quintal boxes, we move them in the wine cellar and we make other 2 selections, bunch by bunch and then grape by grape.”

Silvano then took us to the heart of the winery: the wine cellar, giving us all the details about the structure.

“The wine cellar is distributed on 3 levels developing downwards. Thanks to this, the product is transferred from one step to the other only by the force of gravity, avoiding the usage of mechanical pumps and maintaining as much as possible the natural integrity of the grapes.”

The wine cellar is extremely modern, tidy and clean. It is built on 3 levels and every level is characterized by a different step of the wine making process. Which is the route the grapes cover?

“Once the grapes are carefully selected, they are smoothly pressed and put into steel tanks at a controlled temperature (20°-30°) for approx 20 days during which the first fermentation and maceration takes place. After this process the product is transferred to barrels of Troncais and Allier of first or second passage, according to the importance of the wine. Here the fermentation continues together with the maturation. The assemblage is done into huge oak barrels for 3-4 months and for further maturation in the bottles.”

At the end of the interesting visit of the wine cellar, we went back to the wine tasting room to taste the Syrah 2006 which delighted us with its wide bouquet, its softness of the mouth-filling, its velvety tannins and long lasting taste.

During the wine tasting we had the pleasure to meet the owner, Giovanni Manetti to whom we immediately asked information about the future goals of the winery.

“Our goal is the constant achievement of excellence. Only insisting in this direction we can promote and sell our products all over the world. For this reason we continuously have to make capital expenditures and make investments for the vineyards, the machines and for the wine cellar itself.”

The visit and the interview ended here, with only one regret: we didn’t get another chance to taste the Flaccianello della Pieve 2006 which had become our shining star when it comes to wine since the Merano Wine Festival. But soon enough we will be there again to taste all the world’s famous brands; looking for new surprises and as well as reuniting with our adored Flaccianello.

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