Storia
Arnaldo Crociani and the first preserved vintages
Arnaldo Crociani pursued a youthful ambition to make wine, a project sustained by the determination, foresight and passion remembered by his daughter Susanna. The family collection retains his first bottles from the 1955 vintage. Arnaldo worked with traditional cellar methods over a long career and created Rosso d’Arnaldo, which remains associated with his experience as a cellarman.
1964: a family bottle
For Susanna Crociani’s tenth birthday, Arnaldo gave her a bottle of 1964 Vin Santo bearing a handwritten dedication that marked it as a unique bottle reserved for Susi. She regards this personal gift as an early sign of the path she would eventually choose.
Giorgio Crociani
Giorgio Crociani worked alongside his father throughout his life. His particular contribution lay in the imaginative and committed promotion and commercialization of the family’s wines. He also conceived Il Segreto di Giorgio; the numbered-bottle wine later became a tribute to his memory.
Susanna’s return to Montepulciano
Before entering the family business, Susanna pursued a career in the Italian music industry and drank very little wine. After Arnaldo’s death, she changed the direction of her life and returned to Montepulciano to help Giorgio carry Cantina Crociani forward. Under her stewardship, the business became more entrepreneurial, expanded its engagement with international markets and introduced more modern technology in both the cellar and vineyards.
Vineyard renewal, 2001–2022
Most of the estate’s vineyards lie in Caggiole. The area is divided into three parcels that were replanted between 2001 and 2022. Before the older vines were removed, plant material was selected from the old vineyards so that Sangiovese and Canaiolo Nero could be propagated from the estate’s existing genetic heritage. A very small proportion of the historically established Mammolo variety was also retained.
2011: a new production cellar
In 2011 Susanna purchased part of an old tobacco factory dating from the early twentieth century. Its large, bright interior provided a more practical environment for cellar work and became the place where the wines are vinified. It also houses the Vinsantaia and a space devoted to the family history, with library bottles representing the work of Arnaldo, Giorgio and Susanna.
Maturation and hospitality remain connected to the historic center of Montepulciano. Wine rests in 15 and 20 hl Slavonian oak barrels in fourteenth-century cellars, which also host visits and tastings.
Terroir
The estate has 10 ha of vineyards in the heart of the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano area. Most are concentrated in the locality known as Caggiole, which also gives its name to the Caggiolino wines.
The vineyard identity is centered on varieties historically associated with the estate’s surroundings: Sangiovese, locally called Prugnolo Gentile; Canaiolo Nero; and a very small proportion of Mammolo. Mammolo is treated as a rare, long-established local variety valued for the distinctive aromas it contributes.
Vinificazione
The most clearly documented vineyard operation is the renewal of the three Caggiole parcels between 2001 and 2022. Before the old vineyards were uprooted, the estate selected its own Sangiovese and Canaiolo Nero material for the new plantings, preserving continuity with the older vines rather than treating replanting solely as replacement. A very small component of Mammolo was maintained because of its local history and characteristic aromatic contribution.
Modern technology was introduced into vineyard work during Susanna Crociani’s stewardship.
Vinification takes place in the newer production cellar established in part of an early-twentieth-century tobacco factory acquired in 2011. The building is large and bright and was selected to make cellar operations more practical. It also contains the Vinsantaia and a historical area with library bottles connected to Arnaldo, Giorgio and Susanna Crociani.
Maturation takes place in the family’s fourteenth-century cellars in the historic center of Montepulciano. The principal vessels identified there are 15 and 20 hl Slavonian oak barrels.
The Vinsantaia supports a distinct traditional process: white Malvasia, Pulcinculo and Trebbiano are selected during harvest and dried until early February; fermentation and maturation then proceed for several years in small 70–100 litre barrels stored in the dedicated room.
The range also documents several other cellar practices: oak-barrel maturation, extended to two years for Vino Nobile and three years for Riserva; bottle refinement before release; 18 months in wooden barrels for Rosso d’Arnaldo; and early separation of must from skins after a few hours of fermentation for the rosato. Grappa is made by distilling lightly pressed Vino Nobile pomace.
Filosofia
Susanna Crociani frames the winery as a convergence of family lives, individual paths and vineyard parcels, with love as its defining theme. Her approach grew from returning to the family’s origins and continuing the work of Arnaldo and Giorgio while developing a personal way of making wine.
Continuity and modernization coexist in this approach. Estate plant material was selected before old vineyards were uprooted, preserving a link with the previous vines, while more modern technology was introduced in both vineyard and cellar. Historic fourteenth-century maturation spaces and traditional large Slavonian oak barrels remain in use alongside the newer vinification facility acquired in 2011.
Family memory has an active place in the estate: old bottles are preserved, a cellar space recounts the paths of Arnaldo, Giorgio and Susanna, and wines created by or dedicated to family members remain part of the range.