ALTIERO
My name is Paolo Baldini and together with my wife Samuela I run the Altiero family farm.
My relationship with Montefioralle started in the creek that flows in between La Costa and the Podere Campriano vineyards, because my grandfather told me that there was a "tonfane" with a mega slide where you could go swimming in the summer; this place was called Pozzo alle Donne, because it was there that the women of the village went to bathe. I went there in the winter for the first time when I was ten years old with a friend because during that season we would have avoided meeting women, but the river was frozen and my friend slipped and fell into creek. It was January 10th, 1991!!!!!
PODERE CAMPRIANO
My name is Elena Lapini and together with my husband Luca Polga I represent the third generation of my family here at Podere Campriano. Our relationship with Montefioralle started with the purchase, in 2001, of the piece of property called Le Balze di Montefioralle, but my first memories of this wonderful site go back to my childhood, when my grandfather Nello took me to see the place where the women went to wash their family laundry , located near the traffic lights, and he would tell me, every time, that this was the meeting place for the women of his generation who, while washing their clothes, would tell their secrets. It was a magical place for me as I imagined small groups of young women and girls chatting happily and I dreamt of being part of this even if I belonged to an historical time where these habits have now disappeared.
PODERE SAN CRESCI
I am Sergio Ballini and together with my wife Paola and my children Davide and Laura we manage the family farm Podere San Cresci. What binds me to these places, in addition to being born and raised here , I have beautiful memories of when I attended the primary school in Montefioralle , is that my family has been living in the house adjointed to the Pieve di San Cresci in Montefioralle (10th century) for over 200 years. The Pieve di San Cresci is a beautiful Romanesque church, surrounded by our farm’s vineyards and olive groves which give us all great pride.
TENUTA DI MONTEFICALI
My name is Catherine Storrar and together with my family, I own the Tenuta di Monteficali, the newest member of the Associazione. The perfect symmetry of Montefioralle and the patchwork of vineyards and olive groves is what I wake to see every morning. As dusk falls, it is the image I take to bed. I grew up in Scotland and miss it’s beauty, history and passion, but here, immersed in this land and in contact with its soil, I have found peace and purpose and a way to become part of its very special story.
TERRENO
My name is Sofia Ruhne and I manage the family estate Tenuta Terreno located on the right bank of the Greve river. The estate has also vineyards in the Montefioralle area near the ancient church of San Piero a Sillano, where we produce one of our crus called Gran Selezione Sillano.
My memories of Montefioralle are often linked to culinary experiences. La Taverna del Guerrino, for example, was the first restaurant where my parents went after purchasing Terreno in 1988 and fell in love with the view of the valley that can be enjoyed from the terrace of the restaurant. The after dinner walks through the Borgo di Montefioralle, after an excellent dinner at La Castellana based on truffle burrata, pasta alla Norcina and Florentine steak, are in my experience the quintessence of life in Chianti.
From our estate on the other side of the Greve Valley, and more precisely from our dining table in the garden, we see the traffic lights before entering the town change from red to green and viceversa.
AZIENDA AGRICOLA MONTEFIORALLE
My name is Lorenzo Sieni and together with my sister Alessia , our father Fernando and my wife Manila we run the family farm called as the neighbouring village: Montefioralle.
Montefioralle has always been a place full of memories and emotions for me. Since I was a child I used to come to visit my grandparents, who lived right inside the village, every weekend and at least 2 months in summer. I remember bicycle rides with other children well and even today, when I walk the paved road inside the village, I am reminded of those good times and the many tumbles I had on these centenary stones.
MAURIZIO BROGIONI
It was in 1955 that my family, or rather my father, bought the farm here at Montefioralle.
And that's why I feel deeply connected to this territory that I will never leave. It's my Paradise!
And making wine in Montefioralle is a joy! And even if I'm getting old and my memory sometimes fails me, I still remember very well what Il Pimpi, owner of the food store of the castle of Montefioralle, used to say every single day: "Women!! Today dried cod and herrings!! ", which were the only products he had for sale.
CASTELLO DI VERRAZZANO
My name is Luigi Cappellini and I am the winemaker who manages the family estate Castello di Verrazzano for this generation of my family.
Montefioralle represents for me the thrill of a voyage: when as a boy I crossed the Borro della Paurosa to reach this small great paradise of vineyards, olive groves and ancient walls. Today, however, astride my other great passion, the bicycle, while I climb up these steep roads, I appreciate even more these places that take me away from the dull plains to a more distant world that has been preserved splendidly and is capable of offering excellent, unique and, above all, inimitable products.
VILLA CALCINAIA - CONTI CAPPONI
My name is Sebastiano Capponi and I am the family member who manages the historical assets of the Capponi family for this generation. One of these properties is precisely Villa Calcinaia, purchased by the Capponi in 1524. I do not have a farming background but I learned to make wine in the Montefioralle area because this is the place where I spent my childhood and teenage years and this magnificent product is, has always been and will always be an essential element of the everyday life. This is what Montefioralle reminds me of : having dinner with the Orlandi family in the evening, they have been the sharecroppers for many decades in the farmstead of San Piero al Pino and later became the caretakers of Villa Calcinaia, sitting at the table opposite the “capoccia” Ezio while Roberto, Ezio’s son and our chief tractor driver, poured me a little 'mommo' in the glass of water; the quantity of wine naturally increasing as I grew up at the expense of water. Montefioralle in addition to being a physical site, which is also beautiful, is also a place of the soul where I find the pleasure of conviviality in the company of a good glass of wine at this point without the added water.
*FATTORIA VITICCIO
My name is Daniele Innocenti and I am the vineyard manager and winemaker of Fattoria Viticcio .
Montefioralle is a small village, almost unique thanks to its circular plan that recalls the circle of life and the vegetative cycle of plants.
Whenever at night I find myself coming down from Montefili, I see a fantastic image of the Greve valley that reminds me of the iconography of the Nativity scene with Montefioralle in the center ideally representing the hut for baby Jesus.
My life is linked to Montefioralle with memories related to childhood, teenage years and adult life. Every corner, every stone slab contains its own personal memory very dear to me. All these memories still bind me to Montefioralle : my parents' wedding, the first wine festival, the first kisses with my girlfriend and last but not least my wedding.
PODERE BUCINE
We are the Meli family and our farm Podere Bucine is located about 300 meters from the Castle of Montefioralle where our family settled in the late 1920s and eventually in 1983 bought the property from the Pecchioli family.
We have always produced wine, contributing in the past to the production of the Chianti Classico “Fattoria Castello di Montefioralle”.
The best memories are related to the work in the fields, made with the help of the Chianine cows we owned, and to the harvest with friends and relatives.
Montefioralle has always been at the center of our family's life, and the image we still carry in our memories today is of when all the sharecroppers gathered in the square with their carts pulled by the magnificent Chianine cows.
We have been producing our own Chianti Classico for a few years now and what drives us is the love for the land of Chianti and for the beauty which emanates from its inimitable landscape.