Last week, I restarted my weekly 15-minute wine talk after a couple of years’ break due to health issues. My idea is to give short updates about my wine travels and other news I want to discuss about wine and communication. I think video can be easier and quicker to digest. It also makes it easier for me; I can just go online and talk about my latest wine news.
This week, my 15-minute wine news video covered Montalcino and Terricciola. Last weekend, I went to Terricciola, near Pisa, and Montalcino. Thanks to Bruno Caprioli, a communications strategist based in Torino, I was invited to visit 4 wineries; I already knew a couple of them, and I learned more about them and the area. We started at Badia di Morrona, then headed to Montalcino, where we explored Capanna, San Filippo, and Villa Le Prata.
I had a great time in Terriciola and Montalcino. I liked it because I got direct insights into the people, the territory, their identity and what matters to them.
I found some common denominators for the wineries I visited.
Namely, joy and elegance.
Watch the video below.
Let me know if you have visited any of the wineries. If so, what are your thoughts on the wineries and wines?
Video transcript summary (edited with the help of AI)
Montalcino: Different Perspectives, Shared Joy in Wine
On a recent trip, I spent a day and a half in Montalcino with Bruno Caprioli, a communication strategist who works with several wineries in the area. He had chosen three for us to visit: Capanna, San Filippo, and Villa Le Prata.
I already knew Villa Le Prata and had tasted their wines many times over the past ten years. Returning after several years let me see how things had changed. Capanna and San Filippo were less familiar to me, so the trip combined new discoveries with a welcome rediscovery.
What connected these visits was the wines’ energy, elegance, and joy, expressed through three different approaches.
Villa Le Prata and the “Vino Garibaldino”
Let me begin with a story close to my heart. My PhD research focused on the myth of Garibaldi in Scandinavia, particularly Sweden, so when Niccolò at Villa Le Prata called their Rosso di Montalcino their “Vino Garibaldino,” I naturally wanted to know why.
We were tasting together during a short livestream. He told me that, shortly after he had started working at the winery, his brother asked him early one morning what he thought of the Rosso. Still half asleep, Niccolò replied that it was a little “Garibaldino.”
“Do you mean it’s a revolutionary wine?” I asked.
He explained that he meant it was still a little aggressive: a very good wine with high acidity and a youthful edge. The description stuck, and they have called it their Vino Garibaldino ever since.
We tasted the 2024 Rosso, and I’m really a fan. It is breezy, fresh, smooth, and enjoyable, with structure and a subtle punch. I also enjoyed the Brunello and a selection from a tiny vineyard plot.
I like the direction Niccolò and his brother are taking. They are moving towards lower-intervention winemaking and wines that feel approachable.
Niccolò told me that he hadn’t always been interested in wine. When his parents and their friends gathered for long dinners and talked endlessly about it, he found it rather boring. He mostly drank a little beer instead.
Then, he and his brother discovered that wine could be fun. They approached it with curiosity, experimented, and tasted different wines together.
That says something about the wine industry more broadly. Listening to one another and staying curious can open up possibilities. The brothers are interested in what young producers are doing in France and elsewhere in Italy, including around Monte Amiata and in Piedmont.
I think younger generations may find curiosity appealing: discovering what others are doing, exchanging ideas, and exploring how things can evolve. Montalcino already has many producers making fresh, elegant wines, and it was exciting to see the energy these brothers bring to their work.
Experimenting with a white wine
Another interesting discovery at Villa Le Prata was their white wine experiment. They bought grapes from a producer friend around Monte Amiata and fermented and aged the wine in tonneaux.
The blend includes French and local Tuscan grape varieties, although I don’t remember the exact composition. They also spoke about growing their own grapes in the future, possibly on Monte Amiata.
I tasted a sample with Niccolò in the new winery they are building. The winemaking room had just been completed in time for the harvest. The wine was still an experiment, but I found it very interesting and look forward to seeing how it develops.
Brunello di Montalcino is wonderful in its own right, and I also enjoy seeing producers explore other possibilities.
Villa Le Prata also offers accommodation in the villa, where art and architecture are central to the experience. Original pieces associated with Agostino Fantastici sit alongside artworks the family has collected. A pool sits among the vineyards, with a beautiful view of the surrounding landscape.
It was lovely to see Anna and her sons again and discover this new chapter of the winery.
San Filippo: Power, Finesse, and a Clear Sense of Direction
The day before, we visited San Filippo, where I also stayed. The accommodation had thoughtfully chosen design pieces from different periods, giving it a distinctive character.
We spent the afternoon with the owner, Roberto, who is from Florence and came to wine from the real estate sector. He told me about buying the winery in 2003 because he wanted to do something different.
What interested me was the combination of an entrepreneurial mindset and a close connection to agriculture and the territory. He wants the wines to express their local terroir, with a clear strategy behind what he does, how he does it, and why.
San Filippo’s wines felt a little more powerful in texture and structure than those at Villa Le Prata, but they paired that power with finesse, freshness, and real drinking pleasure.
We tasted the 2024 Lo Scorno Rosso di Montalcino and the 2019 Dei Comunali Brunello. I particularly liked the latter’s clean notes, juicy freshness, and elegance.
We also tasted the 2020 Le Lucére Brunello and the 2019 Riserva. These wines had grinta, character and grip, along with structure, finesse, and freshness. Their complexity brought together fruit, Mediterranean vegetation, herbal spice, tobacco, and pepper.
There was plenty to explore in the glass, and drinking them was a pleasure. That balance matters to me.
Capanna: Historical Memory and a New Generation
Capanna was our first stop in Montalcino. We had lunch with Patrizio at the estate’s resort, surrounded by the landscape. An infinity pool overlooking the valley and a small spa sit in the midst of nature.
Patrizio is Amedeo’s father, and talking with him gave the visit a strong sense of history. He spoke about his family’s role in founding the Brunello di Montalcino consortium in the 1960s and life in the area before wine transformed its fortunes.
He described a much poorer Montalcino, where people worked in the forests and made chestnut flour, traditionally considered the bread of the poor. The area was relatively isolated then.
Listening to him reminded me how much Montalcino has changed. Brunello’s growing reputation, the collective work around it, and outside investment have all shaped that transformation.
Amedeo joined us for the tasting after finishing his cellar work. The harvest had ended only a few days earlier, and he had been busy with racking and other tasks.
He has also created his own wine, called Nicco. In some ways, its style reminded me of Villa Le Prata’s approach: breezy, fresh, elegant, and full of fresh fruit character, with subtle structure and power that reveal themselves gradually.
It was a great pleasure to drink, and these are the kinds of wines I particularly enjoy.
The Joy of Drinking Wine
The wine industry often associates fresh, approachable wines with younger generations. But I think their appeal extends far beyond that. I’m older, and I enjoy them too.
I prefer wines that offer more than heavy oak and intense concentration. Of course, everyone should drink the styles they enjoy, and Montalcino offers plenty of choice.
Across these three wineries, the common thread for me was energy, joy, elegance, and drinkability. I use that last word as praise. A wine can be complex and structured while still being a pleasure to drink and share over conversation.
An oenologist friend once reminded me that a wine may be considered “important,” yet still be difficult to enjoy even by the glass. For me, the desire to return to a wine is high praise. These were wines that invited another sip.
Before Montalcino: Badia di Morrona
Our trip actually began at Badia di Morrona in Terricciola, in the province of Pisa. I don’t want to leave that visit out.
About ten years ago, Terricciola was an emerging wine area. Today, it is becoming increasingly recognised, with several interesting wineries, including this large estate.
Badia di Morrona has roots in a medieval monastery and is now in the hands of the Gaslini Alberti family. Lorenzo guided us around, and his enthusiasm for the estate and the territory was clear.
The family converted former agricultural buildings into villas with a rural Tuscan character, each with its own pool. We even had time for a swim on our first afternoon.
The family now uses the former monastery during their summer stays. It is also said to have two ghosts, but that story deserves an article or newsletter of its own.
We tasted the wines and visited the estate’s bisteccheria, run by a group of young guys. It was lively and enjoyable. Badia di Morrona is worth considering if you’re exploring the countryside around Pisa, particularly if you want to stay for a few days.
More Perspectives on Montalcino
Travelling with Bruno was enjoyable, and I learned a lot about Montalcino that I hadn’t known before. I discovered two wineries I knew mainly by name and returned to another after several years.
The warm, sunny weather in early October made it a lovely time to be on the road. More than that, the trip offered different perspectives on winemaking in Montalcino through the people, their histories, and the wines they make today.
All three wineries also offer accommodation, from Capanna’s resort to San Filippo’s apartments and Villa Le Prata’s art- and history-filled rooms.
If you’re planning a visit and would like their contacts, feel free to get in touch. For more explorations, discoveries, and different perspectives on Italian wine, sign up for my newsletter or read my blog.
