The story of Alessandro Scappini (owner and winemaker of Podere il Castellaccio) is a story of passion for the land where he was born and grew up.
His family had one of the longest running "botteghe" or markets of homegoods, lasting over 130 years over 6 generations. With the financial crisis hitting Italy hard and a change overall in the market, Alessandro decided to dedicate himself 100% to wine, leaving his family's business and returning to the literal sense of his roots on his grandfather's beautiful hill where he had old vines of sangiovese planted. The production had been used only to make wine for the family and had been abandoned for years.
Alessandro, who had inherited his father's sense of entrepreneurship decided to invest once again in this abandoned hill. And like that, Podere il Castellaccio was born, with the first vintage produced in 2010. They are making Sangiovese as well as a traditional Super Tuscan, and a new entry of 100% Cab Franc, taken from a very steep hill with ocean views and beautiful climatic conditions. However, perhaps even more exciting are the two varietals, Pugnitello and Foglia Tonda, both indigenous to Tuscany, in which Podere Il Castellaccio have invested and replanted to bring light to these interesting, native grapes.
"A sip of the past, with an eye to the future", is the way Alessandro describes their philosophy and you can see this brough forth in their wines, particularly in their Valénte e Dinostro labels. Two wines that represent concrete results of Alessandro and Enrica's dream to return to the roots of Bolgheri.
The grapes are grown exclusively by means of natural methods and are monitored with great accuracy and care during all their vegetation phases and with particular attention during the maturation period. Alessandro is meticulous in every step of the growth and winemaking process to truly give a sense of terroir and the history of Bolgheri.