Sammontana Farm

Eight centuries of history between the Medici, the canons of San Lorenzo and a noble Polish family that has been making natural wine in the Arno Valley for four generations.

From the 12th century to today, a Romanesque church, an underground cellar, an arched furnace and thirteen hectares of biodynamic vineyards on skeleton soil: Montalbano in its most luminous form.

Sammontana, where the history of Florence spans eight centuries of cultivated land

Among the hills that slope gently towards the Arno Valley, just 20 kilometers from Florence, in the municipality of Montelupo Fiorentino (FI), one of the most fascinating places in the Tuscan winemaking tradition: the Sammontana FarmThirteen hectares of specialized vineyards and over three thousand olive trees that slope down the slopes between the 70 to 150 meters above sea level, in that territory of the Montalbano — the hilly ridge that separates the Florence plain from the Val di Nievole — which has always represented one of the less celebrated but more fascinating hearts of Tuscan winemaking, halfway between the Chianti Classico and the Tyrrhenian coast. Sammontana is not simply a beautiful winery: it is aauthentic time capsule, where the history of Florence, monastic spirituality, Renaissance art and an extraordinary Polish noble family intertwine in a story that spans eight uninterrupted centuries of agricultural lifeA story that starts from Medici Princes of Florence and it reaches up to thebiodynamic agriculture of today, passing through large underground cellars, a overlapping arch furnace for terracotta and a Romanesque church still adjacent to the cellar today. Here, every bottle of wine is also a small piece of a large historical mosaic, passionately guarded by the fourth generation of the Dzieduszycki family.
 
 
 

The 12th century: the Medici, the canons of San Lorenzo and the Romanesque church

La history of Sammontana has its roots in the Twelfth century, when the complex — including the Romanesque church still today admirably preserved and adjacent to the cellar - was of property of the Medici familythen princes of Florence and lords of the flourishing Tuscan commune. In one of the many manifestations of their generous policy of ecclesiastical patronage, the Medici made donation of the complex to the canons of San Lorenzo: the order which had its historical headquarters in Florence in the famous Basilica of San Lorenzo, placed under the direct protection of the Medici family (later the Medici Chapels, masterpiece by Michelangelo Buonarroti). For the canons, the Sammontana complex became a place of rest and spiritual retreat, far from the turmoil of Florentine city life, immersed in the industrious silence of the Montalbano hills. But they did not limit themselves to contemplation: they created large underground cellars for the conservation of wine — structures that still today represent a precious material heritage of wine production in the places - and, in the surrounding areas, they erected a majestic furnace with overlapping arches, used for the production of terracotta pottery and of various terracotta materials, which testifies to a parallel artisan activity of the highest quality (Montelupo Fiorentino is historically famous for its production of majolica, one of the excellences of Italian Renaissance ceramics).
 
 
 

1870: the arrival of the Dzieduszycki family, Polish nobles in love with Italy

The year of production 1870 marks an extraordinary turning point in the history of Sammontana: the entire property - the main building, the adjoining Romanesque church, the furnace and the farm - is purchased by Michele Dzieduszycki, an Polish nobleman who loved to spend time in his native Poland long vacation periods in Italy, fascinated by the scenic and cultural beauty of Tuscany. The family Dzieduszycki (pronounced roughly “Dzieduscicki”) is one of the ancient Polish noble houses, a name that carries with it centuries of Central European history: a fascinating choice by Michele, to establish a deep bond with a land so geographically and culturally distant from his own. His son Maurizio Dzieduszycki — a man of very refined culture, specialized in Italian Renaissance art and literature — took the decisive step: he married an Italian woman and came to reside permanently in Tuscany, definitively merging the destiny of his family with that of the land that his father had conquered. An Italianization that occurred not by birth but by deep cultural loveFirst the aesthetic appeal, then the studies, then the marriage, finally the radical life choice. A story that has the flavor of a European Romantic novel, but which is simply the chronicle of a family who chose Montalbano as their forever home.
 
 

 
 

Massimo Dzieduszycki: The Birth of the Modern Wine and Olive Oil Company

The merit of having transformed Sammontana from a noble residence and traditional farm into a real agricultural company highly specialized in wine and oil production must be recognized son of Maurizio, Massimo Dzieduszycki —third generation of the family in Italy. Massimo understood that the Sammontana terroir had such peculiar characteristics that it could only be expressed through a authentic and distinctive quality wine and oil production, capable of respecting and enhancing the uniqueness of those thirteen hectares of stony land that sloped towards the Arno. He started the viticultural specialization with modern agronomic choices that are respectful of tradition: breeding systems traditional Tuscan (spurred cordon and “Tuscan upside down”, an ancient technique typical of the region), care of agricultural biodiversity, selecting the varieties best suited to the terroir. At the same time, he enhanced the olive oil heritage by caring for the over three thousand olive trees that now grace the estate's slopes. Massimo's long-term vision allowed Sammontana to weather the great transformations of 20th-century Italian agriculture without losing its historical identity—a rare and precious balance in an era when many Tuscan wineries have industrialized, losing touch with their land.
 
 
 

The fourth generation: organic since 2009, biodynamic since 2012

Today Sammontana is led by fourth generation of the Dzieduszycki family, which led the company to one of its highest moments of its eight-century history. A radical and enlightened choice: the full transition to organic and biodynamic agricultureA choice that the producer himself describes with these memorable words: “We vinify our wines in a natural way, with fermentation with indigenous yeasts from 2007. We are certified organic since 2009 and we started the biodynamic viticulture in 2012. As part of our philosophy of minimal intervention in the cellar, we only allow very low levels of sulfur dioxide“. A precise temporal trajectory that tells of a non-random choice, the result of a conscious maturationFirst, the decision to use only indigenous yeasts (2007), then organic certification (2009), and finally the leap to biodynamics (2012). A three-stage progression, each requiring courage, study, and effort. As the family explains: “The transition to organic farming and, subsequently, to biodynamic farming was natural, since ours is a very traditional company, tied to old customs.“. Old habits have become the most advanced frontier of sustainable agriculture: a closing of the circle that tells how the organic and biodynamic are not an abstract innovation but rather a conscious return to the most authentic peasant tradition.
 
 
 

The Montalbano terroir: alluvial land of pure skeleton

The uniqueness of Sammontana wines comes from a terroir of extraordinary peculiarity, profoundly different from the more classic lands of Chianti and Montalbano. The soil is alluvial type — a sign of the ancient fluvial activity of the Arno and its tributaries — but with a distinctive feature: the massive presence of “skeleton”. “Skeleton” is the technical term used by pedologists to define the stones present in the ground: in Sammontana the terrain varies "from gravelly to pebbly, with even large pebbles“. A land that Tuscan peasant tradition would define as “ungrateful“: poor in immediate nutrients, difficult to work, stony to the point of forcing the vines to develop extremely deep root systems to search for nourishment. And yet, as the family proudly explains: “This land, which is usually defined as 'ungrateful', is the one that gives character and personality to our wines“. A discovery confirmed by the thousand-year-old European winemaking tradition: great wines always come from soils “poor”, where the vine has to work hard to produce grapes, and for this very reason it concentrates all its chemical knowledge in the few bunches produced. The Sammontana skeleton also guarantees a perfect drainage of rainwater, avoiding stagnation and diseases, and allows a thermal regulation natural soil. The terroir of Sammontana is in fact so distinctive that — although geographically belonging to the Chianti region — “It differs, due to its pedological and environmental characteristics, from many of the surrounding areas and from the majority of other areas in the Chianti region.". A unique geological personality, therefore, which is the sensory signature of all Sammontana wines.
 
 

 
 

Vineyard work: green manure, horn manure, horn silica, and lunar rhythms

The work in the vineyard at Sammontana is a small biodynamic liturgy which runs through the entire cycle of the year. It begins in autunno, immediately after the harvest, with the practice of “green manure”: sowing in the rows of legumes (broad bean, pea) and grasses which will then be buried the following spring, naturally enriching the soil with nitrogen and organic matter. This is an ancient practice that medieval Roman agricultural cooperatives had already fully understood. Once the colder months are over, the manual pruning , tying the vines, performed according to the ancient Tuscan techniques of spurred cordon or of “Tuscan upside down”. In spring we proceed with cutting and burying the green manure, choice of garments (“checkered”) and, in June, “femininity” to leave only the best shoots and allow better aeration of the bunches - a practice that limits the need for pesticide treatments (in Sammontana only sulfur and copper, the only plant protection products allowed in biodynamics). Throughout the year, the company carries out the ritual operations of biodynamic practice codified by Rudolf Steiner: the spraying of the “horn-dung” on the ground (cow horn filled with manure and then buried throughout the winter until ripe) and of the “hornsilica” on the leaves (cow horn filled with finely powdered quartz silica), both diluted in water specially “dynamized” by manual agitation that creates alternating vortices. All performed following the rhythms of the moon — the classical biodynamic conception which sees agriculture as part of a larger cosmic system. the harvest is entirely manual and starts with the white grapes and the earliest red grape varieties; after about fifteen days we move on to the more traditional grapes, to finish with the grapes destined for the Holy wine, then leave to to wither on the mats according to the ancient tradition of Tuscan sweet wine.
 
 
 

In the cellar: indigenous yeasts, terracotta amphorae and zero filtration

The work in the cellar at Sammontana is a masterpiece of minimal intervention. For white grapes: soft pressing and separation from the skins + decantation of the must at low temperature for one day + fermentation in stainless steel tanks on indigenous yeasts (i.e. those naturally present on the grapes and in the cellar environment). For the red grapes — here lies a fundamental technical choice of Sammontana — the fermentation takes place together with the skins in concrete tanks, "in the most natural way possible, without the addition of yeasts, enzymes, tannins and other substances, other than those present in our grapes, in order to allow the wine to express the characteristics of our land and the personality of the different types of grapes“. A pure winemaking obedience to the terroir, where the winemaker is simply the instrument through which the earth speaks. During fermentation, frequent reassemblies, délestages and punchings, and at the end a complete decanting into the air resulting oxygenation of the musts. This operation is repeated several times in the following months, thus avoiding having to proceed with filtering and/or clarification operations, "so as not to alter the original characteristics“. Wines therefore take different paths depending on the typology: some “they go directly into the bottle without any type of filtration (we sell many young wines)“, others are refined in Wood (large and small barrels), others still — in small quantities — in terracotta amphorae, recovering the most ancient winemaking tradition of the Mediterranean basin (Georgian, Greek, Etruscan). A conscious container diversification, chosen based on the personality of each grape and each vintage.
 
 
 

Vinsanto: Montalbano's sweet tradition

Among the Sammontana productions, the following stands out: Vinsanto — the sweet and contemplative wine of the Tuscan tradition, produced through thedrying of grapes on matsThe grapes destined for Vinsanto are picked last in the harvest, after the traditional red ones, and placed in to slowly wither on cane racks or mats in ventilated environments for many months — a practice that concentrates the sugars, aromas and personality of the fruit. Vinsanto of Montalbano It is one of the least celebrated but most fascinating excellences of the Italian sweet tradition, historically linked to guest welcoming ceremonyA glass of Vinsanto + almond cantuccini is the gift that the Tuscan host used to offer (and in many families still offers today) to the visitor, a sign of respect and welcome. At Sammontana, Vinsanto is produced according to the criteria of minimal intervention: natural drying + fermentation in small chestnut or oak barrels (the traditional "caratelli") + very long aging. A wine of pure contemplation, to be enjoyed in company.
 
 

 
 

Sammontana's philosophy: the expression of terroir beyond the container

Concluding eight centuries of history and four generations of the Dzieduszycki family, Sammontana has developed a clear and coherent winemaking philosophy, summed up by the family in a phrase that is both a declaration of intent and a secular prayer: “Our hope is that, beyond the container, our wines will be able to maintain their character over time. personality and peculiarities, typical of our 'terroir', which differs, in terms of soil and environmental characteristics, from many of the surrounding areas and from the majority of other areas of the Chianti region“A philosophy that is expressed in daily practice through precise technical choices: minimal intervention in the cellar, very low levels of sulfur dioxide, no added yeasts, enzymes or tannins, no filtering or clarification, different and consciously chosen containers. final goal is that the glass of wine tells of the Sammontana terroir —those thirteen hectares of alluvial soil that slopes down to the Arno River between Florence and the sea, beneath a 12th-century Romanesque church, above medieval underground cellars. A story of land, stone, water, and time that every bottle of Sammontana carries with it. Eight centuries condensed into a single sip.
 
 
 
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