Sassodisole

Agricultural roots from the seventeenth century

The Terzuoli family's documented agricultural tradition reaches back to the beginning of the seventeenth century. Wine was initially only one part of a mixed rural economy. The family worked the land, grew crops and raised animals, passing practical agricultural knowledge from one generation to the next.

Gino Terzuoli and the move from sharecropping to ownership

Gino Terzuoli came from Castiglione d’Orcia, where his family already had experience of vinification. He left for the Second World War at the age of twenty. On returning, he found the sharecropping system in deep crisis but chose to remain in agriculture rather than leave for industrial work.

In 1947, Gino took the decisive step toward independence. Having worked as sharecropper for Count de’ Vecchi at Podere Santa Giulia, part of the larger Castelverdelli estate, he purchased the property. The 1950s brought substantial depopulation to the countryside around Torrenieri, but Gino continued to manage a diversified farm: woodland supplied winter fuel, fields were devoted to forage and cereals, and the estate raised Chianina cattle. In the 1960s he planted the first specialized vineyard, covering approximately one hectare.

Bruno and Graziella establish Sasso di Sole

Gino had four sons. Two pursued other occupations, while the two eldest remained alongside him. The property was subsequently divided: the eldest retained the old Santa Giulia farmstead and part of the land, while the second son, Bruno Terzuoli, born in 1949, received the remainder and developed the estate known as Sasso di Sole.

The portion assigned to Bruno had no farm buildings and only a very small vineyard holding. He therefore began by constructing the family home. The first cellar was a small room beneath it containing a single cask.

In the early 1970s Bruno met Graziella Bindi, who also came from a long-established farming family. They married and combined their personal and professional lives in the new agricultural enterprise. They cultivated part of the property as vineyard, although cereals, wheat, legumes and cattle remained the principal activities during the early phase.

Their only son, Roberto Terzuoli, was born on 9 February 1974. Bruno and Graziella raised him within the farm and transmitted an emphasis on respect for nature and the land.

Roberto’s training and the expansion of viticulture

Roberto studied agriculture and later spent ten years as vineyard manager at Il Greppo, working with Franco Biondi Santi. That experience introduced him closely to Brunello production and encouraged him to focus more seriously on his family’s land at Torrenieri.

The vineyard estate grew incrementally. An additional 1.5 ha was planted in 1997, followed by 2.5 ha in 2000. The 2001 harvest produced the first Brunello di Montalcino vintage associated with the Sasso di Sole name.

A new approximately 500 m² cellar was built at the centre of the estate in 2002, replacing the original cellar beneath the family home. Its design embodied the family’s intended balance between modern facilities and Montalcino’s traditional cellar practices.

In 2005 Roberto left his outside position to devote himself full-time to the family wine operation and shifted its emphasis decisively toward quality viticulture. Commercial sales began in 2006 with Brunello di Montalcino 2001, Rosso di Montalcino 2005 and Orcia 2005. The first 3,000 bottles were filled, labelled, capped and packaged by hand because the estate did not yet possess a bottling line; the family completed the work together in the evenings.

A further 3 ha was planted in 2008. Roberto’s son Tommaso was born on 21 September of the same year. Roberto describes him as the fourth generation of the modern family estate and a future right-hand man.

Organic certification and further planting

After completing a three-year conversion, Sasso di Sole became certified organic in 2014. Roberto connects organic farming with the estate’s wider mixture of vineyards, grain fields, olive trees, woodland and other crops, which maintains greater biodiversity than a vineyard monoculture.

In 2016 the estate began a small production of sparkling rosé from Sangiovese Grosso harvested early. Another 2 ha of Sangiovese were planted in 2019 and registered for Orcia DOC. By this stage, the vineyard area was reported at 10 ha.

New selections and a larger cellar

The 2015 harvest provided the fruit for BRUNO, a limited Brunello selection created in honour of Roberto’s father. Bruno personally selected grapes from the estate’s oldest vineyard, then almost fifty years old. The inaugural production comprised 4,212 bottles, and the selection was intended to be repeated only in vintages Bruno considered suitable. The wine was publicly introduced in 2020.

The Sasso di Luna range was also created from younger vineyards. Its label reproduces a photograph taken by Tommaso from the terrace of the family home, showing the family cat Birilla against a backdrop of cypresses.

A larger underground cellar was completed after approximately two years of construction. The 650 m² structure uses natural and local materials: stone from the estate on the walls, pietra serena floors, chestnut beams from Monte Amiata and handmade terracotta ceiling elements. A further 450 m² underground warehouse was planned for completion by the end of summer 2022. Both structures were placed below ground to reduce their visual impact. The cellar was dimensioned for a possible future expansion to 15 ha of vineyards and to provide storage for parcels of older vintages retained for later release.

By 2023, the estate covered 100 ha, including 12 ha of Sangiovese Grosso vineyards. Modern equipment had replaced the original entirely manual bottling operation, including machinery for sterilizing empty bottles and vacuum bottling. The family nevertheless continued to manage grape growing, vinification, maturation, promotion and sales directly.

All estate vineyards are planted to Sangiovese Grosso. The vines are trained to low, spur-pruned cordon in accordance with the estate’s understanding of traditional Montalcino agronomy. The vineyard density does not exceed 4,000 vines per hectare. This moderate density is intended to limit excessive canopy shade, stagnant humidity and insufficient sunlight rather than forcing deep rooting through intense competition between neighbouring vines.

Paulsen 775 and 779 rootstocks were selected for their tendency to form a deep, taproot-oriented system rather than a shallow fasciculated one. The main root descends toward subsurface nutrients and water reserves, an attribute regarded as increasingly important during dry vintages.

Certified organic since 2014 after a three-year conversion, the estate combines vineyard cultivation with wheat fields, olive trees, woodland, durum wheat for pasta, barley for organic beer, clover and alfalfa. This mixed-farm structure is maintained to support biodiversity and avoid the limitations of a vineyard monoculture.

Vineyard decisions are made plant by plant. Roberto Terzuoli considers the human eye and hand the principal technology: pruning length may be adjusted according to the needs observed in individual vines, and operations requiring such judgement are not mechanized. Green selection is repeated several times during ripening to regulate and refine the crop.

Harvesting is performed entirely by hand. Mechanical harvesters are avoided to reduce the risk of damaging bunches. The family gathers across generations for the harvest, and selected fruit is brought to the cellar at the centre of the estate. Manual selection begins in the vineyard; the best bunches from older vines may be separated for limited selections.

The cellar combines temperature-controlled equipment with methods rooted in Montalcino tradition. Fruit is selected manually at harvest, and vinifications take place in stainless-steel tanks at controlled temperatures. Alcoholic fermentation proceeds with the grapes’ indigenous yeasts and without added cultured yeast. Fermentations are deliberately slow and extended, remaining on the skins for more than 20 days; longer lots may remain in maceration for approximately 35 days and, for particular selections, as long as 40 days. Extraction can include numerous small pump-overs, while the decision to draw off is made through tasting.

After drawing off, malolactic fermentation takes place in stainless steel. Maturation follows in large 35 hl and 50 hl casks made by Garbellotto from Slavonian oak. The large-cask regime is intended to retain fruit integrity and varietal identity rather than impose a dominant oak character. Depending on the lot and intended ageing capacity, wood maturation can extend for several years. Bottle maturation completes the process, and portions of individual vintages are retained for later re-release as mature wines.

The first 3,000 commercial bottles were bottled, labelled, capped and packed entirely by hand in the evenings because the family had no bottling line. Modern machinery now supports these operations. Empty bottles are sterilized before filling, and vacuum bottling reduces pressure changes at closure, allowing a considerably lower sulfur-dioxide threshold than the family could achieve with earlier equipment.

Production was approximately 55,000 bottles per year in 2022. The new 650 m² underground cellar and planned 450 m² warehouse provide space both for present operations and for a possible expansion of the vineyards to 15 ha.

The Terzuoli family’s central principle is that respect for the land is the prerequisite for good wine. Family members personally oversee grape production, vinification and maturation, regarding direct responsibility for the complete process as essential to quality.

Roberto Terzuoli seeks to maximize the expression of Sangiovese Grosso while preserving its identity as a living agricultural product. He does not expect—or desire—identical wine every year: variations among vintages and among vines planted on different hills are treated as part of the variety’s value. The intended level of extraction is not the maximum possible, but the amount appropriate to the fruit and terroir.

Human observation remains fundamental. Every vine has its own history and needs, so the timing and nature of vineyard work cannot always be standardized or mechanized. At the same time, the family does not reject technology. Equipment is welcomed where it improves precision, working conditions, environmental performance or product stability, including the use of vacuum bottling to reduce sulfur dioxide.

The approach therefore combines traditional large-cask maturation, indigenous yeasts and manual judgement with temperature control and modern bottling equipment. Innovation is evaluated by whether it helps the wine remain faithful to Sangiovese, the vintage and Montalcino rather than by novelty alone.

Family continuity and agricultural diversity are equally important. Cereals, olives, woodland, clover, alfalfa and barley remain part of the property because biodiversity and the estate’s farming identity are considered integral to its future. The family also retains mature bottles from past vintages so that visitors and customers can experience how the wines develop over time.