Cesani

1949 — The family settles in Pancole

The history of the estate began in 1949, when Guido and Annunziata Cesani bought their first small parcel and a house in Pancole, 6 km northwest of central San Gimignano. The property occupied the top of a hill where vines and olive trees had long been cultivated. Guido and Annunziata arrived with their four children and initially operated a subsistence farm, also raising a small number of cattle.

Specialization under Vincenzo Cesani

Management subsequently passed to their son Vincenzo. Under his direction, the mixed farm specialized in wine and extra-virgin olive oil. Vincenzo retained direct responsibility for vineyard work, supervising and carrying out the activities himself.

The 1980s — Acquisition of Cellole

Vincenzo bought Cellole during the 1980s, despite widespread skepticism about ground characterized by stones and broom. Its ancient combination of enormous stones, alberese and clay later became the source of the estate’s Cellori and Luenzo red crus.

1995 — The first Sanice

Sanice Vernaccia di San Gimignano Riserva was produced for the first time in 1995. It developed the estate’s emphasis on time as an active component of wine production and release.

2008 — Organic certification

The family’s detailed familiarity with every parcel and plant led to the organic certification of all agricultural production beginning in 2008. Synthetic agricultural chemicals were removed from the estate’s farming system in favor of products and methods of natural origin.

2015 — Clamys becomes a separate cru

Beginning in 2015, the estate bottled the fruit of the more than 40-year-old Clamys vineyard separately as Clamys Vernaccia di San Gimignano. Although Clamys is only about 2 km from the winery, its clay-rich marine soil and northeast exposure distinguish it from the other vineyards.

The third generation and recent developments

Vincenzo’s daughters, Letizia and Marialuisa, have worked alongside him in estate management for years. They have helped develop the original rural holding into a diversified agricultural and wine estate while retaining the family’s inherited values and traditions. Letizia directly supervises cellar operations, while Vincenzo remains responsible for the vineyards.

A former agricultural outbuilding has been restored as a bottle-ageing facility. Buried on three sides, it provides naturally constant temperature and humidity. Several new hectares of Vernaccia di San Gimignano have also been planted at Vergaia with the intention of creating another wine from that site.

The estate is based at Pancole, a small village 6 km northwest of central San Gimignano. Its 26 ha of vineyards are distributed among Pancole, San Paolo and Cellole. Although the three areas are no more than 2 km apart, differences in elevation, exposure, soil and surrounding landscape give each a distinct identity.

Pancole

The vineyards surrounding the winery stand at 300 m and face east. Their predominantly sandy soils are of marine origin and contain abundant fossil shells dating from the Pliocene. This is the source of the estate’s historic Vernaccia di San Gimignano, Chianti Colli Senesi, rosé and Sanice Riserva wines.

San Paolo

Clamys lies at 300 m with a northeast exposure. Its strongly clayey soil is also of marine origin and rich in Pliocene fossils. The resulting wines are characterized by the estate as mineral, intense and persistent.

Vergaia, separated from Clamys only by the provincial road to Certaldo, presents a markedly different environment. It lies at 250 m, faces east and has purely sandy soil with deep tuffaceous formations. A surrounding forest and the nearby Broto di Vergaia stream create its particular microclimate.

Cellole

Cellole rises to 360 m and faces east. Its soil, formed millions of years ago, combines enormous stones, alberese and clay. Sangiovese reaches full phenolic ripeness there and develops a particularly fine tannic structure. The elevated site also provides a broad view across the surrounding countryside.

Vincenzo Cesani personally supervises and carries out vineyard work. The 26 ha of vines are treated as individual living organisms, with agronomic choices and harvest decisions adapted to each site’s soil and identity. Continuous direct cultivation has given the family detailed knowledge of every parcel and plant, enabling highly targeted decisions on matters such as fertilization and picking.

All agricultural production has been certified organic since 2008. Synthetic agricultural chemicals are excluded. Crop health is monitored, and interventions use products and systems of natural origin when necessary, with the stated aims of conserving the estate ecosystem and protecting biodiversity.

The wider property is managed as a tightly integrated mosaic of vineyards, olive trees, arable fields, coppiced woodland and other vegetation. This mixed landscape supports biodiversity and hydrogeological protection but makes mechanization more difficult, requires more manual labor and raises production costs. Its preservation forms part of the estate’s environmental and economic approach.

Low yields per hectare are a deliberate strategic choice. Annual output remains below the potential production capacity of the vineyard area so that the harvested fruit can be healthy and balanced. Grapes are picked by hand, selected according to ripeness, variety and parcel, and transported to the cellar every hour.

Letizia Cesani personally supervises and carries out cellar operations at Pancole, where the estate’s vinification and ageing facilities are located. All grapes are harvested by hand, selected by ripeness, variety and parcel, and delivered to the cellar at hourly intervals.

White and rosé wines ferment and are vinified in stainless-steel tanks. Red wines are vinified in stainless steel and cement; depending on their characteristics, they are subsequently refined in French oak.

Every tank is temperature-controlled and can be regulated remotely through a control panel. Many stabilization processes are performed solely through temperature management.

Bottle ageing takes place in a recently restored former agricultural outbuilding. The structure is buried on three sides and maintains constant temperature and humidity. Many labels are released only 24–48 months after bottling, a quality-led choice intended to allow tertiary aromas to develop before the wines reach the market. Time is treated as an ingredient alongside grapes and human work, governing vineyard activity, harvest, maturation and release.

Vincenzo Cesani expresses the production philosophy through the principle that only a grower who knows the grapes can understand how to vinify them. The family connects wine quality with knowledge of the raw material, farming skill and the human contribution. It controls the complete production chain by cultivating its grapes, vinifying them, bottling the wines and selling them directly.

Knowledge of the grapes is considered inseparable from knowledge of their land and natural rhythms. Vineyard work, harvest and bottle release follow the principle that everything has its proper time; care for nature is placed ahead of purely commercial timing. Organic cultivation, natural inputs and protection of the estate ecosystem and biodiversity give practical form to this position.

The objective is to make wines that express the quality and identity of their grape varieties and the family tradition, allowing innovation without severing ties to the past. Transparency, sustainability and typicality are presented as the estate’s fundamental ethical standards. The family supports local enterprises and short supply chains as ways to protect product quality and origin while encouraging consumers to participate actively, responsibly and knowledgeably.

The farm is also conceived as more than a production enterprise. It is a place for relationships based on solidarity and cooperation, with a mission to strengthen the territory’s natural and human heritage. Team members from different countries and professional backgrounds are treated as part of the extended family, and each person’s work is regarded as a contribution to the finished wines. Caring for a healthy countryside is understood as an investment in the well-being of future generations.