Notes from Strade Bianche:

"Alessandro , a native Tuscan, started his winery project in 2001. He found the perfect plot of land nearly 10 years earlier, but it took years of convincing the owner to sell him Podere La Castellaccia outside of the famous Tuscan hill town of San Gimignano. Locally, Alessandro is known as the patron saint of Vernaccia as he finds very old neglected vineyards and nurtures the old vines back to life . Along with his wife Simona they have championed this often overlooked white grape varietal.

The vineyard is 5 hectares at 400 meters in altitude with an average vine age of 40 years , with some as old as 70 years. These mature vines along with clay soil rich with fossils provide a complexity to the wines that allows them to ag e tremendously. Andrea drank some library vintages that had aged impressively. Farmed organically Alessandro believes in biodiversity and also grows barley and oats on the property for their horses. The vineyard has been certified organic since 2003."