Even though I started this irregular series of interviews with a winemaker, Yves Cuilleron, I failed to serve another one since then.
During Vino 2010, I had the pleasure to meet many winemakers and winery owners, Marco Monaci was one of them.
I decided to interview Marco about Cantina Pieve Vecchia, the labor of love his father Vincenzo started in Maremma (Tuscany) because it blends tourism, wine making and love of the land in one place.
Let's get started.
Q: Marco, the winery was started in the Nineties with your father Vincenzo, what made you take the plunge? Did you have prior experience in the wine field?
No we didn't. I was still in high school at that time, with a big passion for music, and my father was into Information Technology for most of his life. He decided in the late 90's to go back to his native land, the Tuscan Maremma, to invest in something different and start a new business. He started with the opening of the Locanda del Glicine, a small inn with a restaurant and 6 rooms and then, a few years later he started investing in the land and planting new vines.
The passion starts from the will of giving value to the land, create something that the terroir of the Montecucco DOC appellation needed: services for high quality tourism and sustainability.
Q: Was Cantina Pieve Vecchia the name of the property when you purchased it?
Pieve Vecchia was the name. Cantina came later. It is the Italian word for Winery.
Q: Where is the name coming from?
The name comes from an archeological site named Pieve Vecchia for ages.
Q: Was Pieve Vecchia already a wine property?
No, only olive trees and a long, long history.
Q: Enrico Sartori designed the winery. What made you chose him? Did you
want to make an architectural statement?
Enrico Sartori is a young architect that designed the winery together with our enologist Ugo Pagliai. We wanted to build a winery that was really functional.
Later, the famous international architect and designer Cini Boeri chose to adopt a characteristic and sober style to spot the perfect balance between elegance and terseness.
Q: There is a mansion, a main house, when was it built?
As I said, the Pieve Vecchia is an archeological site. There is still a beautiful Roman cistern dating back to the II century A.D. that we restored.
The Pieve Vecchia mansion is in the center of the Estate, a fascinating villa in local stone built on the remains of an ancient Roman abode.
Q: The property also includes an Inn, the Locanda del Glicini? Is it a free standing building? Did you renovate it or did it exist under previous owners?
It's an old building, the name Locanda del Glicine existed before we arrived but the restaurant and the inn have been closed for decades. We restored it and started a new business there based on quality food and relax.
Q: Is the Locanda a combination hotel and restaurant?
Yes it is. Restaurant and 6 rooms for the perfect holiday!
Q: Can you name some of the local dishes you serve?
Of course: Tortelli, Acqua Cotta, Pici, Gnocchi, Fiorentina steak. And lots more!
Q: I noticed you also have a Villa that you rent, what type of amenities does it offer?
The villa is located in the Pieve Vecchia estate.
It offers 6 bedrooms,3 bathrooms, a big kitchen and dining room, a leaving room, a huge garden with old beautiful olive trees, and a swimming pool.
Q: Is a minimum stay required at either the Locanda or the Villa?
Not at the Locanda, you can stay one night if you want or even go to have dinner and nothing else. The minimum stay for the villa is one week.
Q: What is the price range for both?
Oh well, it' s difficult to say. The inn is normally around 120 euros per night for a double room and breakfast. We like to discuss the price for the villa with our guests, depending on how long they want to stay and when.
Q: Has wine tourism being part of the mix since the Nineties?
No, at the beginning it was just restaurant and hotel. Wine tourism came when wine production came. But the idea was there already.
Q: Are as many people staying at Pieve Vecchio for the peaceful setting, the surroundings as for the vineyards?
Most of the people stay for the peaceful surroundings, but then they want to know more about the wine and the winery. They have the chance to visit the winery, have guided tastings, buy typical food.
Q: Besides a chance to rest what are the popular sites and activities the area has to offer?
Campagnatico, in the Tuscan Maremma, is close to the most beautiful cities of Tuscany: one hour and a half driving from Florence, 45 minutes driving from Siena.
It is close to beautiful ancient thermal sites such as Saturnia, Petriolo and Bagno Vignoni.
It is 30 minutes driving from the sea and there is the chance to do trekking, horseback riding, and playing golf in beautiful golf clubs such as Punta Ala.
Q: Where do you draw most of your visitors from, Italy or abroad?
Italy, but also a lot of foreigners come from all around Europe. Also some Americans: Gillian Anderson was our guest at the Pieve Vecchia Villa for 15 days 6 years ago!
Q: Was olive oil already produced prior to your arrival?
Not from those olive trees. We started producing it.
Q: Can you tell me more about your oil, taste, color?
Our extra-virgin oil is really tasty and spicy, good for salads and "bruschetta" (roasted tuscan bread). The color is intense yellow, almost green.
Q: What does Cultiva Frantaio mean?
Cultivar Frantoio relates to the type of olive trees we have there. It is a variety.
Q: Even though wine growing in the area goes back to the Middle Ages, the DOC you are part of, Montecucco, was only created in 99. What are the plus and minuses of belonging to a younger DOC?
On the plus side, Montecucco is really close to the Brunello Doc and the Morellino Doc. It is located between those two Docs so the terroir is great and wine is really good! Also, a lot of people are curious about wines coming from new Docs. On the flip side, the Montecucco Doc still has to work a lot to build a famous brand. But we will do it, I am sure.
Q: Is there a clear separation of roles and responsibilities between you and your father at Pieve Vecchia?
I am learning a lot from him right now, and I hope to learn more and more in the next few years.
Q: How much to do you each contribute to the winemaking?
I am the marketing and communication manager of the winery. In the meantime I am learning from our agronomist Luca Ricciardi and enologist Ugo Pagliai about winemaking but I barely scratched the surface.
Q: Do you practice organic farming and sustainability on the property at large?
We don't practice organic farming but we try to keep it as natural as we can. We don't want our vineyards to be over productive, we prefer quality over quantity. Our winery is build underground for the most part, because we don't want it to impact the land.
We want to give value to our land respecting it, we love it and we want it to be beautiful.
Q: Last, if you were asked by someone who never tasted your wines before to describe them and offer a perfect food pairing with each of them, what would your answer be?
Chorum is our most representative wine, 100% Sangiovese Montecucco DOC aged for 6 months in big barrels. There is a lot of Tuscany in it. It pairs perfectly with roasted red meat and game.
Pieve dei Monaci is an experiment. We wanted to make a wine 100% Syrah in the Tuscan Maremma and we are very proud of it. It is aged for 6 months in tonneaux and it pairs perfectly with game and ripe cheese.
Albatrello is our crowd pleaser wine, 85 % Sangiovese and 15% Alicante, fresh and fruity Montecucco Rosso DOC. It is very good with gourmet deli items and lightly aged cheeses. Suitable for meat pasta dishes and excellent with grilled meats.
Le Zere is a white wine, a blend of Vermentino, Fiano and Chardonnay in equal parts. It is very particular, fresh smell of white flowers and a lot of structure. Perfect for aperitives and hors d’oeuvres, it is also recommended with fish or white meat.
Campo del Noce is a Vermentino 100%, Montecucco Vermentino DOC. Very typical from our land, it is excellent as an aperitif or with appetizers, it matches especially well dishes with seafood base or white meat.
A chat under the Maremma skies with Marco...
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