I think Montalcino has become famous for a number of years because, first of all the quality of the wines. The wines are great if you taste them against other great wines of the world. They hold their own, so I think the wines are definitely a major factor to Montalcino’s popularity. Also I think it’s a beautiful place with a great location geographically. We are in a fantastic area as you can see if you look around. We’re near Siena, near Florence, near the sea, some beautiful towns. I think it’s a luxury that lots of other wine areas don’t have.

Montalcino sits at 567 meters on a pyramid-shaped hill, which has four different sides with different characteristics. I think we have the right amount of rain, the right amount of wind and we are protected from the Amiata Mountain [Monte Amiata, an extinct volcano, is the highest peak in this part of Italy and protects Montalcino from the south-east, blocking cold air which brings rain or hailstones] on one side. I think the geographically and geological reasons make Montalcino a special place to grow Sangiovese. Also because Sangiovese is the most widely planted grape in Italy, and that Sangiovese wine comes out with good quality only in very few places. I think that Montalcino is one of them definitely.