Sassotondo is located near the town of Pitigliano (above) near Lake Bolsena in the Maremma, an area of southern Tuscany whose civilization dates back to the Etruscans in the 6th century BC. Much of the region was marshland until it was drained in the 16th Century, under the rule of Ferdinando I de’Medici. The region is best known for the Maremmana breed of large grey cattle and the traditional butteri cattle herders.

Carla came to this part of Tuscany from Trento where she worked as an agronomist, sitting at a desk, teaching and writing lectures, and traveling all around Europe consulting. Edoardo Ventimiglia is from Rome with a previous life working as a documentary film director as part of a legacy family business (his grandfather was a cameraman for Hitchcock). The need for open air called them both, and even though their farm was purchased simply as a getaway place, they planted a vineyeard, just 1 hectare at first, and set off on a new journey together. 

Vigneti Sassotondo now totals 12 hectares of vines, farmed organically since day one. The cellar is a long tunnel burrowed into a tufo cave beneath the main house, the tasting room is a big round table under the shaded porch, and the hilltop setting not far from the fantastic village of Pitigliano.

So why isn't a Tuscan winery, with all the above ingredients, and in business for 25 years, not more well-known? They must be making Sangiovese right? Well, it turns out that Tuscany is pretty big, about the size of New Jersey. And just like everywhere in New Jersey is not on the beach, not everywhere in Tuscany is in Chianti Classico or Montalcino. Here, their specialty is Ciliegolo.