Ficomontanino is located in Chiusi, in the province of Siena/southern Tuscany, at the border between Lazio and Umbria. You can see distinctively the profiles of the three regions from the highest point of the estate: the flora’s different colors, the air and the sunlight that blend together. Tuscany inspires strength, Umbria the purity of water and Lazio the sense of depth.
As these geosensorial messages guide me I try transferring them into our wines.
The mountain dominates the Chiana valley, it used to be an island when the valley was a sea at the center of prehistoric Italy. For thousands of years this borderland experienced the cultural influence of different people, the Etruscans and Romans above all, but also the great tradition of the Tuscan grand duchy and of the Papal state, during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
These influences were very strong in agriculture as well, and in a place like this, a sort of gateway or outpost, they blended together creating a melting pot of rural gestures that we rediscovered in the years thanks to local farmers.
Perhaps my grandfather noticed this uniqueness when he impulsively acquired the property in the 60s. It was a retreat for him, where he made olive oil and bred horses, a huge passion of my family. He had an epiphany one day, walking around he noticed that the profiles of the estate had been sculpted by a skillful hand from the past, Etruscan for sure, that had already chosen the right place to plant vines: in deep terraces he found rootstocks that belonged to previous vines and that’s when he decided to start his experience as a winegrower. In a few years he planted 11 hectares of vine. My father Alessandro continued my grandfather’s efforts and became a passionate farmer, very receptive of the best and more natural methods in agriculture.
My name is Maria Sole and I’ve always loved gastronomy: I studied at Pollenzo (Slow food’s University of Culinary Arts), and when I came back I started transferring a message into the wines through my rural gestures. Inspired by Fukuoka and Steiner, yet also keeping the virtuous classic tradition in mind, I began building an agricultural system where the vines live in the natural flora, together with other crops and animals.
The first unique feature of this place, compared to other typical Tuscan lands, is the high presence of sand in our soil. A lot of silica, a lot of light received by the surrounding vegetation: the same light I find in our grapes. In order to keep and transmit this light into the wines I work with healthy bunches in the cellar, coming from plants that are farmed naturally, respecting their character with little intervention. I discovered that observation is paramount in understanding when to take action. I also found out that the observation of animals and insects is a crucial guide. I follow the lunar calendar, I watch the winds and the humidity, and this allows me to employ natural products in use in Homeopathy and in Biodynamics. Clearly I don’t use chemicals.
I want to inherit and pass down the tradition of this borderland and besides Sangiovese I grow other varieties that are less known like Verdello, Ciliegiolo, Gamay from Trasimeno, all varietals have found a home in this area for centuries.
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