How a Forgotten Bottle of 1978 Inspired a New Approach to Sangiovese Talk about an awkward moment. It was 2009, and I had just started my first consulting project for a Tuscan winery. The new owners wanted to overhaul production. Over lunch at their restaurant, we tasted through their estate’s wines—blends of Sangiovese and international […]
Sangiovese’s Signature Read More »
Since the 2022 wines finished fermenting in October of that year, and I first tasted them, they have seemed different. As always, the grapes were destemmed and put into small tanks; during fermentation, the sugar in the grapes was consumed by the yeast on the skins and turned into alcohol. Then the wines were racked
After much-needed spring rains, the threat of disease loomed over the early part of the growing season, requiring the judicious use of copper to protect the young leaves. In July, the weather settled into a stretch of dry, sunny days, culminating in perfect harvest conditions of bright, breezy days and cool nights. The grapes have
Highlights of Harvest 2023 Read More »
Going into the 2022 harvest, I was hopeful: my faith in the capacity of the old vines in my own vineyard to produce flavorful, evenly ripened grapes in increasingly extreme weather was proving well-placed. Furthermore, I had contracted to buy grapes from a vineyard that stood on what I believed to be the best kind
The 2022 harvest was going to be more important than usual: I had convinced the owners of a small, high vineyard outside of Florence to sell me their grapes. In fact, they wanted to sell me their vineyard. I was tempted: 500 meters up, planted on well-draining sandstone slopes–one facing south and one west–the vines
At a brunch party a few weeks ago, a friend said: “Here’s a question I don’t get to ask many people: How was the harvest?” The party was in London, and the friend works in tech. In Tuscany, though, the harvest is the only topic of conversation from late August until Christmas, so I wasn’t
Whether for reasons of upbringing, experience or temperament, I am always striving—to think up and take on projects, formulate plans, aim for change; grow and achieve. As a little girl, I convinced my parents to redecorate my room, having it painted pale blue to match the canopy bed I cajoled them into ordering—the first transformation
Smelling the Roses Read More »
The real reason I started Fanciulle Vini was to make the wines I wanted to drink. Over the years, I had finished drinking most of the bottles of a cellar of Burgundy wines I had inherited, and not only could I not afford to replace them, the wines I had gotten used to sipping with
What Happened When I Ran Out of Wine Read More »
Today it’s sunny, windy and cold, and although we need rain at this time of year, the weather is perfect for pruning. I only own a thousand vines—old vines with thick, twisted trunks that produce vegetation at waist level or above, so while I started pruning a week ago, I will already finish today, and
The Growing Season Read More »
Whereas for the past year or two, we have been delighted to find a glass of almost any wine in our hand come evening, these days, with vaccines, a somewhat milder Covid variant and a bit more freedom in our lives, expectations are on the rise. And now that wine lovers are back in wine
How We Can Become Better Wine Tasters without Tasting 10,000 Bottles Read More »
