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Castellare di Castellina is a 198-acre estate located in Castellina (Chianti area), in the province of Siena – the very heart of Chianti Classico. It was established in 1968 when five different farms merged together; in 1980 it was purchased by Paolo Panerai, who has made it one of the most famous wineries in this wine-growing area.

The company has 81.5 acres of vineyards, 59 of which are on the hills of a natural amphitheatre facing south-east. They grow at an average height of 1.213 ft above sea level and are between 5 and 30 years old. In addition to the vineyards, there are about 30 acres of olive groves and 37 acres of mixed cultivations.

The soil that host the vines enjoys excellent exposure to the sun and benefits from good water drainage. It is mainly made marlstone and clay that make the locally produced wines well-structured and intense.

Since the end of the 1970s, a census of the local vines has been undertaken in order to select the best species of “Sangioveto” – the noble native version of Sangiovese, and “Malvasia near”: their current use undoubtedly proves that the native vines in this area can comply with the highest international quality standards, such as “I Sodi di San Nicolò”.

The word “sodi” was already in use among Tuscan peasants to describe those lands that had to be worked by hand; they were too hard and steep to allow working with oxen, unlike several other fields nearby. San Nicolò, on the other hand, is the name of the XIV century church located on the property of Castellare, around which there are some of the vineyards with the best exposure.

The company pays particular attention to the surrounding environment: chemical protective compounds for the crops, as well as hunting, are strictly forbidden throughout this area.
Such attentive behaviour has allowed many animal species to return to this land, while they had been on the brink of extinction for a long time in the past. But there’s more: each year, a different bird is featured on the wine labels of Castellare, chosen among those in danger of extinction – some other proof of the total commitment of this winemaking company to the protection of its surrounding environment.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)