At Avignonesi, looking after our 200 hectares of vineyards keeps our agronomists busy all year round.
We are the stewards of the land on which we grow our vines. In order to create the healthiest growing habitat for our grapes, we must let the vineyards imitate nature as far as possible, despite the fact that they are monocultures.
We use no chemical herbicides, pesticides or fertilisers and try to see to the vineyard’s needs throughout the year by working the soil and growing secondary crops between the vine rows, thus restoring the biodiversity of flora and fauna both above and below ground.
We have a total of eight vineyards within the Montepulciano region in eight different locations to ensure a diversified range of soils that can produce a Vino Nobile di Montepulciano that truly expresses the complexity of the Montepulciano terroir.
This estate highlights our terroir: gentle hillsides, open vistas all the way to the hill town of Montepulciano, vineyards that seem to be etched into the earth. Here Sangiovese reigns supreme.
Avignonesi’s main estate is divided into four main parcels. Over the years this is where many of our vineyard experiments have taken place, including the iconic ‘Vigna Tonda’ (round vineyard).
This hillside vineyard, where we have our oldest vines and where Sangiovese has always been grown for the Avignonesi Vino Nobile, is divided into five separate parcels.
Divided into eight parcels, this large vineyard property is located in the historical heart of the Montepulciano production area.
This recently acquired vineyard is located near I Poggetti and produces classic Sangiovese for our Vino Nobile and Rosso di Montepulciano.
A single parcel vineyard acquired in 2011 together with the vineyard Banditella.
A long cypress-lined driveway leads to these 25 hectares of vineyards in the Abbadia area of Montepulciano: the landscape opens up, revealing gentle hills. The soil is mainly composed of clay which is typical for this area.
This estate is made up of 20 planted hectares and is located not far from Le Capezzine in Montepulciano. The vineyards of Matracchio are delimited by small woods.
We have 2 vineyards in the Cortona appellation.
An ocean of vineyards whose vines are all bush trained and planted at a high density. Producing mainly Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc.
Our largest vineyard and the place where our Cortona wines are vinified. A vineyard where Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay reign supreme.
We are currently converting all 200 hectares of our Avignonesi vineyards to sustainable farming methods. In April 2011, we formally applied for organic certification of the entire estate. This started a mandatory 3-year certification period during which we must observe all the principles of organic viticulture. A recent purchase of new vineyards in Montepulciano means we will be granted full certification in 2015. However, we have decided to go one step further and apply a biodynamic approach to our vineyards. This holistic and regenerative farming system focuses on the health of the soil, the integration of local flora and fauna, and biodiversity.
To be able to work in the midst of nature and feel the living heart of the earth is probably the biggest privilege of my job.
Laura is a dynamic and cheerful agronomist with a decade’s practical experience managing vineyards and olive groves in Tuscany. She graduated in Forestry and Agriculture from the University of Florence. She brings a deep appreciation of nature to her daily tasks of overseeing the smooth running of the vineyards.
Virginie Saverys asked me to help her to convert Avignonesi to biodynamics, a challenge that was as difficult as it was stimulating.
Adriano’s expertise and commitment have helped us to move successfully to biodynamic methods across the entire winery. His work experience in New Zealand, India and France have helped him to understand that the biodynamic method, wherever it is employed, should be simple, practical, efficient and in sync with the natural biorhythms of a given place.
The sun’s fierce desire to shine rips through the air and accentuates all the colors: the green of the wheat and grass, the brown earth, still wet after the abundant rains, and the blue sky, traversed by lazy clouds blown along by a light breeze.
It’s a beautiful day, one of those days..
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We’ve decided to open up the section on our website entitled OUR STORIES to include YOUR anecdotes and experiences related to Avignonesi wines. See your story online and have your name appear as Guest Blogger on our site.
Why? Because your stories are the ones that other people love to..
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The challenge of testing a connoisseur’s palate with a blind wine tasting requires steady concentration, years of experience, and a rich vocabulary of terminology to capture the breadth and depth of the flavor experience. Max de Zarobe, President of Classica, the distribution arm of Avignonesi..
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Avignonesi is pleased to announce the acquisition of 66 hectares (163 acres) of vineyards in the Montepulciano DOCG appellation from Golmat Ltd. This is the third vineyard acquisition by Virginie Saverys over the last 2 years, bringing the winery to a total of 200 hectares (494 acres) of..
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Harvest: all expectations, fears and hopes are concentrated into these few, intense weeks. All the actions we take over the course of the year, the way we choose to harvest, the attention we show to the grapes, and the speed with which we work all have a major impact on the final product - our..
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Any foodie worth their salt has truffles on their top ten list. Nothing new there. Artists and writers have been singing the praises of the strangely pungent tuber that appear almost out of nowhere with their delicate root systems for as long as people have been dining on them. There’s a..
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One week into Harvest 2012, the skies turned dark over Montepulciano and we received a generous 50-90 mm of rain. While we’re pleased that the rain brought much needed water to the roots deep below the surface of the Sangiovese vines that are still maturing, it also has caused the skin of some..
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