Pietroso Brunello di Montalcino

The farm ‘Pietroso’ started in Montalcino in the 1970s thanks to the passion of winemaker Domenico Berni. His aim was to produce a limited quantity of fine wines such as Brunello and Rosso di Montalcino. Today the business is run by family member Gianni Pignattai who also has the expertise of Alex Dondi, an enologist and Federico Becarelli, an agronomist. The farm covers 13 hectares, 5 are cultivated with vines for the production of Brunello di Montalcino and there is one hectare of olive trees.

The vineyards are planted exclusively with the Sangiovese grape and are situated in three distinctive areas within the boundaries of Montalcino which allows for a balanced product even in years when there are particular weather conditions. The soil is very suitable, rich in substance and receiving the right amount of sunlight. The microclimate is ideal. All these factors together with constant and attentive manual work such as careful pruning and thinning out the bunches of grapes help to produce high quality raw materials. The height above sea level varies between 350 and 450 metres, so the grapes ripen gradually, this is important considering the tendency for summers to be hotter and drier and in this way the harvest can be put back to the first week in October. The density of planting is 4500 vines per hectare and the growing system is branched cordons with reduced budding to contain the yield to about 70 quintals per hectare. The grapes are picked entirely by hand after drastically thinning out the bunches over the summer.