From here we continue through the Chianti Mountains towards Lastra a Signa to meet with “Quei 2” – literally meaning “those two”. Those two are Martina and Alessandro, trained mechanical engineers and formerly senior managers in large multinational companies, who followed their call back to nature and to running Alessandro’s father and grandfather’s farm. Some of the vines are from the 1960s, others from the mid 1990s. They planted some new vines recently, as well.

“Those 2” invested a lot of time, travelling to Piemonte and France before deciding how to best make wine which would on the one hand, reflect the tradition, on the other hand, be fresh and slightly different, not to say innovative. The first part of the project was to bring the old vineyards back to life. The photos of Alessandro manoeuvring the digger on the steep hillside are impressive! The second part was the choice to combine the classic Sangiovese with more international Merlot to add more aromas without compromising the strong body of the wine. The white wine is made from a traditional Tuscan blend of Trebbiano, San Colombano and Malvasia. However, we conclude that the best expression of this combination of grapes is when made “orange”, with long maceration and secondary fermentation, such as “Aura” of Poggio di Cicignano.