Montalcino Report

Harvesting and pressing the olives for extra-virgin olive oil at Il Poggione

The cold weather has arrived in Montalcino. For a few days now, morning temperatures are around 37-38° F. and it never gets warmer than 44-45° during the day.

We are proceeding with the harvest of olives, even though we have almost finished. At Il Poggione, we have 12,000 olive trees planted over 80 hectares of land. The olives are picked by hand and taken immediately to our estate's press where they are pressed within 6 hours of harvest.

 

Once the fruit has arrived, the leaves are removed and the olives are washed and then very thinly sliced with very sharp blades. The slices are so thin that they turn into a paste, which is stirred for about 40 minutes in order to extract the oil from the "flesh" of the fruit. After 40 minutes of stirring, the solids (formed by the skins and the pits) begin to separate from the liquid (formed by the oil and the water contained in the fruit).

At this point, the paste is transferred to a machine called a "decanter", which is nothing more than a slow centrifuge. The solids (called the "sansa") are removed from the outer part of the centrifuge and then is used to fertilize the olive groves. The liquid (water and oil) is then transferred to a centrifuge that separates the water from the extra-virgin olive oil. 

The water is added to the previously removed "sansa" while the oil is transferred to stainless-steel vats where it settles for a few days before it is filtered.

 

The whole process is carried out using a touch-screen computer that helps us to identify any problems we might have. In the photo above, you can see Antonio Vincelli, the son of Elio Vincelli (click here), who also works for Il Poggione as one of the olive press managers.

 

The Thermal Waters of the Val d'Orcia

Hotel Posta Maruccci

Località Bagno Vignoni

San Quirico d'Orcia

0577 887112

The Val d'Orcia (the Orcia River Valley) in Tuscany, where my father and I make wine for Il Poggione, is one of the most beautiful and most photographed places on the earth. It is an officially recognized "World Heritage Site" by UNESCO because of its beauty and history.

One of the things that makes our river valley so special is the hot springs river that runs through it and the different places you can bathe in the "acqua termale". The waters are rich in calcium and sulphur and many enjoy its therapeutic properties. 

A favorite place to "take the waters" is Bagno Vignoni, which literally means the "bath among the vines". The main piazza in the village is not a piazza but rather an ancient Roman thermal waters bath. Its visitors have included some very famous personages, like Pope Pius II, Caterina da Siena, and Lorenzo il Magnifico de Medici.

You can't use the ancient Roman bath anymore but you can bathe at the public baths there and the Hotel Posta Marcucci (pictured above) where the Marcucci family has an excellent private pool and a wonderful traditional Val d'Orcia restaurant and wine list. 

Requiescat in pace: Gianni Brunelli

At Tenuta il Poggione, we were really saddened by the news of Gianni Brunelli's passing during the weekend. He was a true "toscano", a great artisanal wineamaker, a favorite "oste" at his Osteria le Logge in Siena, and he will be missed greatly by the winemaking community in Montalcino. Requiescat in pace. (Photo by Avvinare.)

Brunello Consortium members vote again not to allow grapes other than Sangiovese

At an assembly of Brunello Consortium members on Friday, November 14, producers voted unanimously not to change article 2 of the "disciplinare", the appellation laws. Article 2 requires that Brunello di Montalcino be made from pure Sangiovese grapes. Brunello Consortium members already voted once on proposed changes to the disciplinare, on October 27, including a proposal to allow grapes other than Sangiovese. A call for a second vote was made and except for a few producers who abstained from voting, yesterday the producers voted unanimously not to change Article 2.

Trattoria Il Leccio in Sant'Angelo in Colle, great wine list with classic Tuscan and Italian foods

Il Leccio
Via Costa Castellare 1
Sant'Angelo In Colle
0577 844176

Another great place to eat, and another of our favorites in Sant'Angelo in Colle our village, is Trattoria Il Leccio. The word "leccio" means "holm oak" in Italian, from the Latin "ilex", and, in fact, the toponym Montalcino comes from a combination of "monte" or "mount" and "ilex", in other words, the "holm oak mount". People from Montalcino are called, in fact, "ilcinesi" from the Latin "ilex".

Il Leccio also serves traditional Tuscan cusine but you will find some classic Italian dishes as well and a great wine list, with a lot of wines from many different Brunello producers, including Il Poggione, of course.

"Pappa col pomodoro" is a great Tuscan summertime dish. It is a bread soup made with our characteristic saltless Tuscan "type 00" bread, fresh summertime tomatoes and basil. It is always served tepid or just warm (never hot). It is one of the many dishes in Tuscan cooking that make use of "yesterday's bread", in other words, stale bread from the day before. It is usually topped with drizzled extra virgin olive oil.

Another favorite at Il Leccio is "zucchine in three ways" (above), stuffed, fried, and with fried zucchine flowers — a classic springtime Tuscan cooking dish.

Trattoria il Pozzo in Sant'Angelo in Colle, classic Val d'Orcia food

 

Trattoria Il Pozzo

Piazza del Pozzo 2

Sant’Angelo in Colle

0577 844015

This post is the first in a series of great places to eat and taste Brunello and Rosso di Montalcino in Montalcino and Sant'Angelo in Colle.

Our village, Sant'Angelo in Colle, is situated at about 450 meters a.s.l. (that's one of the reasons it's such a great place to grow Sangiovese because the high altitude helps to cool the fruit on the vine at night times). It's a tiny village, there are just a few places to dine there, and they all serve traditional Col d'Orcia foods. 

One of our favorites is the classic Tuscany Trattoria Il Pozzo, located across the "pozzo" or "well" square across from where I live with my family. 

At Il Pozzo, you can have traditional dishes like the Pinci ai funghi in the photo above. Pinci are classic hand-rolled long noodles, made with just flour and salt and water. Some people like to say that this is an example of "cucina povera" or "poor cuisine" but to us there is no better food to eat. You can have the Pinci also with "ragù" or "meat sauce" and sometimes the ragù is made from wild boar.

The inside of Trattoria il Pozzo is very simple and the food and wine list are excellent. We like to go there and order our Brunello and the Bistecca fiorentina, the most famous pairing for our wine. Bistecca fiorentina is made from meat from "Chianina" cows, very large beasts that are slaughtered young to make the steaks. The meat is always served rare and charred on the outside. 

Next week I'll do a post about Il Leccio, another classic Tuscan trattoria in Sant'Angelo in Colle.

Trattoria Il Pozzo is open for lunch and dinner but it is closed on Tuesdays.

Benfinita della vendemmia: happy ending of the harvest

On Saturday, October 25, Il Poggione celebrated the "Benfinita della vendemmia", the happy ending of the harvest. We had about 130 people (all the employees of Il Poggione with their families) and we ate into the cellar. The meal was prepared by some of our workers.

It was a very good day as we sat for about 4 hours enjoying the wine and the "Olio Nuovo", the newly pressed olive oil from the 2008 harvest.

In the meantime, the alcoholic fermentation has finished and malolactic fermentation is going on smoothly.