The Santa Vittoria farm was built in the early 1700’s in the hills of the Valdichiana, the idyllic countryside between Siena and Arezzo. Francesco Niccolai and his family run the farm producing wine, olive oil, wheat and sunflower seeds at a quasi-organic regime. Both the farm and agriturismo that sits in the property are solar powered. Francesco is keen to clonal study and experimentation with local varietals like Sangiovese, Foglia Tonda and Pugnitello, producing several micro-vinifications in order to assess their unique characteristics and how they are affected by different soils and harvest times.One of such experiments is “Lepoldo’ from Pugnitello grapes, a clone ediscovered by chance in the eighties in coastal Tuscany. Its characteristics make it suitable for aging. Deeply colored with vibrant acidity and a good tannic structure.
Santa Vittoria has 35 hectares of vineyards planted on clay and sandy soil, using no fertilizers. 4500 plants per hectare. Only a fraction of the production is bottled, less than 45.000 bottles.