About Salcheto

The Vineyards

Consider that it takes at least 10 years to grow a mature vineyard able to produce a great red grape, the basic ingredient for a potentially well structured, balanced and ageworthy wine. Once you have these grapes in your cellar, you will need several years working the wine in barrels plus another four years, minimum, prior to releasing the wine.

Now consider as well a winemaker who is not satisfied with his wine and wants to change only one of the many parameters employed in planting that vineyard? It’s then possible that he will have to wait another 20 years before drinking a really good glass of his own wine!

This is why winemaking has so much to do with history. We learn from history’s lessons. But the lessons of winemaking are not necessarily written up in a book, because no one vineyard is exactly the same as another.

So imagine that you really want to make a better wine than anyone else has made before, and that you do not want to rely only on luck. This is our challenge!

Salcheto is perched at one of the highest elevations in Montepulciano. The estate extends over 113 acres, 81 of which are planted to vines. At the heart of the property is a classic Tuscan farmhouse, typical of those houses once inhabited by the tenant farmers who have long worked the land, with roots in agriculture going back 1400.

We try to improve quality while minimally impacting our natural environment. We also strive to be hands-on with our vines and our wines, thus harnessing both the romance and science of winemaking to make critical decisions. In this way, we hope to balance technology, innovation, nature and art in the pursuit of quality. Integration of the vineyards and winery with our land and environment is key. For example, we will be using specific types of trees, planted and grown on the property, for wood to heat the winery and also support organic pest control in the vineyards. The trees will also provide an aesthetic backdrop for the winery.

As one might expect, the most extensively planted varietal at Salcheto is Prugnolo Gentile (the local name for the Sangiovese clones used to make Vino Nobile). In addition the traditional grapes, Canaiolo, Mammolo and Colorino are grown, as well as a small amount of Merlot, planted in 1999 in a vineyard parcel especially well suited to the variety.

Our vineyards are located in two areas. The first, which surrounds the farmhouse, extends over 38 acres. The second, Poggio Piglia, is located in Chiusi, about 8 miles from Salcheto. The grapes from this 26-acre vineyard are used to produce Chianti Colli Senesi and Pigliatelo sweet wine. There is another 17-acre parcel near Poggio Piglia, acquired in 2005. These grapes are also destined for our Chianti Colli Senesi.

Our vineyards range in age from 5 to 27 years. We modify our growing strategy year after year, plant by plant as we learn more from experience. To this end, in 2007 a team that included partner Michele Manelli, agronomist Laura Bernini, geologist Francesco Lizio Bruno and vine philosopher Daniel Shuster, undertook a study that divided the estate into 22 micro-zones, each to be analyzed differently year by year with annually updated data.

Out of respect for both the environment and the fruit, Salcheto employs sustainable pesticides in the vineyards. Levels are monitored using a method as natural as it is effective: Bees!

At harvest, our grapes are hand-picked, with the harvesters working their way through the vineyards as many as three times. The clusters go into 40-pound baskets for immediate transfer to the cellar, where the winemaking process continues.