History
Four generations of farmers
Ventolaio is a family agricultural estate inherited by its present, unnamed custodian after approximately four generations of farmers. The property represents a legacy assembled and maintained through the work of the current farmer’s parents, grandparents and earlier generations. Along with the land came an attachment to farming and to the crops it produces.
The present family phase
The current custodian regards farming as a heritage to be maintained, enriched and passed to the next generation. His children are being taught the work and values of agriculture, extending the estate’s intergenerational continuity beyond the four earlier generations.
The modern cellar
A recently constructed cellar marked a new phase for the estate while retaining traditional Montalcino ageing practices. Its principal features are large oak casks, including 30 hl vessels made from Slavonian and French oak. Production remains based exclusively on grapes grown in the estate vineyards, with Maurizio Castelli supervising the chain from the vines’ vegetative development and harvest through vinification and preparation of the bottled wine for sale. Luca Felicioni works as his close collaborator.
Terroir
Poggio d’Arna
The vineyards surround the estate at Poggio d’Arna, a hill in Montalcino framed by century-old woodland. Their average elevation is approximately 400 m above sea level, with south to south-east exposure. This combination is associated with effective fruit ripening and the development of an intense, deep aromatic range.
Soils
The vineyard soils are described as medium-textured and clay-rich, with an abundant stony skeleton. The estate’s production documents identify the terrain more specifically as Galestro, with English-language versions describing it as marl–Galestro.
Wider Montalcino setting
Within the broader Montalcino landscape, warmth arrives from the direction of the Maremma and the sea, while Monte Amiata provides protection to the south. This regional setting is presented as an important component of the local microclimate supporting Sangiovese.
Winemaking
The vines are trained to spurred cordon at an average density of 4,300 plants per hectare. Vineyard work is treated as a year-round responsibility, with close attention to the needs of the land and selection of the best grapes.
Grapes entering the cellar come exclusively from the estate’s own vineyards and undergo manual selection. Manual harvesting is explicitly employed for the Sangiovese destined for Toscana Rosato Lo Spiffero; those grapes are identified as coming from organic agriculture.
Approximately 1,700 olive trees grow around the vineyards, adding an agricultural component beyond the vines. Their fruit is used for extra-virgin olive oil extracted by a cold-processing system.
Reception and fermentation
Production begins with manual selection of grapes grown exclusively in Ventolaio’s own vineyards. The selected fruit is transferred to stainless-steel tanks, where alcoholic and malolactic fermentation take place under controlled temperatures.
Vinification favours the indigenous yeasts naturally present on the grapes. The purpose is to preserve a clear territorial identity and allow each growing season’s particular character to remain perceptible in the finished wine.
Cellar and maturation
The recently constructed cellar combines stainless-steel fermentation equipment with large traditional oak vessels. Ageing takes place in 30 hl Slavonian and French oak casks, followed by approximately six months in bottle. For Brunello di Montalcino, the production overview identifies about four years in 30 hl oak casks before the six-month bottle rest. The Riserva production material also records 15 and 30 hl French or Slavonian oak vessels.
The rosé process includes manual harvesting, a brief cold maceration with skin contact lasting a few hours, separation and static settling of the must, followed by slow fermentation at low temperature in stainless-steel tanks.
Production scale
Average annual output is approximately 37,000 bottles of Brunello di Montalcino, 17,000 bottles of Rosso di Montalcino and 10,000 bottles of IGT, for a combined total of about 64,000 bottles. The estate also produces Grappa di Brunello and Grappa di Brunello Riserva; the Riserva grappa is aged for two years in barriques.
Philosophy
Ventolaio’s philosophy centres on purity, genuineness and the continuity of family farming. The current custodian sees the property as a living inheritance created through the effort of parents, grandparents and earlier generations, and believes that farming now includes teaching the same responsibility to his children.
Attention in the vineyard extends throughout the year, from caring for the vines to selecting the best grapes and responding to the land’s smaller requirements. The aim is a natural, pure wine that is not constructed in the cellar, but instead preserves each vintage’s particular conditions, aromas and personality.
Brunello is intended to remain traditional and genuine: a reflection both of the work invested during the year and of the season’s natural development. Indigenous yeasts, controlled but restrained cellar work and large oak casks support this emphasis on territorial identity and vintage variation.