Producer Article
Canonica a Cerreto
Last edited on 4/13/2013 by vinole
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Imagine Paradise with cypress trees; a scenic location with a view of Siena beyond the vineyards. The canonici or parsons of Siena cathedral knew just what they were doing in the year 1000 A.D., when they snapped up this gentle hill as their bishop's residence for the summer months.
At the time, the canonici erected a small, exquisite Romanic church that stands to this day, like the luxuriant Turkey oaks (cerreto) that gave the “parsonage” or canonica its name. In fact, the ancient little church is the first building we come to from the driveway among the vineyards, like a silent sentinel guarding the estate. Peacefully huddled together, the present buildings comprise former cloisters, Renaissance and 18th-century houses, all surrounded by 60 hectares of Chianti soil (148 acres), 21 of which (52 acres) under vine while the rest are covered in woodland and olive groves.
Fine wine and olive oil have been produced here from the very beginning: ora et labora, the monastic motto promoting an even mixture of prayer and manual labor, stood the canonici in good stead when it came to planting olive trees and vineyards at Canonica a Cerreto.
Today, the cloister-like tranquillity is in place but land and buildings are privately owned by Egidio and Brianna Lorenzi, who restored and furnished the estate when they moved here some twenty years ago. Egidio is a Tuscan by birth, returning home from a career in banking in Milan. His wife had only ever lived in the heart of the thriving metropolis but was easy to convince once she saw this amazing countryside.
The Lorenzis gave no thought to becoming wine producers at first. Brianna in particular devoted her time, energies and passion to restoring the 18th-century frescoes and buildings, furnishing them with authentic period pieces (most of the original contents had disappeared through the centuries). The couple inevitably made limited quantities of wine and olive oil for their own use and very soon, they realized it would have been a shame to keep such treasures to themselves.
Soil, microclimate, altitude and exposure are ideal: the vineyards face south on hilly, clayey-calcareous terrain (abundant shale) at 1,150 feet above sea level (350 meters), density is 5,000-6,600 vines per hectare and the training system is Guyot, spur-pruned cordon.
The very first winery here was built by those same parsons of the Siena cathedral who founded the Canonica around the year 1000, and is still extant. One thousand years later, in 2003, the Lorenzis (Egidio, Brianna and their son, Marco) added to this a state-of-the-art new one featuring stainless steel tanks for fermentation and barriques of French oak (used for a maximum of 3 years). The new cantina is perfectly integrated in its surroundings, built as it is underground, beneath a freshly planted olive grove.
A couple of years ago, enologist Matteo Bernabei joined the team. Total production is 130,000 bottles yearly: 90,000 of these Chianti Classico, 20,000 Chianti Classico Riserva and another 20,000 bottles of San Diavolo.
Source: http://www.empson.com/Italian-wine-producers/Canonica%20a%20Cerreto_p63.html
Imagine Paradise with cypress trees; a scenic location with a view of Siena beyond the vineyards. The canonici or parsons of Siena cathedral knew just what they were doing in the year 1000 A.D., when they snapped up this gentle hill as their bishop's residence for the summer months.
At the time, the canonici erected a small, exquisite Romanic church that stands to this day, like the luxuriant Turkey oaks (cerreto) that gave the “parsonage” or canonica its name. In fact, the ancient little church is the first building we come to from the driveway among the vineyards, like a silent sentinel guarding the estate. Peacefully huddled together, the present buildings comprise former cloisters, Renaissance and 18th-century houses, all surrounded by 60 hectares of Chianti soil (148 acres), 21 of which (52 acres) under vine while the rest are covered in woodland and olive groves.
Fine wine and olive oil have been produced here from the very beginning: ora et labora, the monastic motto promoting an even mixture of prayer and manual labor, stood the canonici in good stead when it came to planting olive trees and vineyards at Canonica a Cerreto.
Today, the cloister-like tranquillity is in place but land and buildings are privately owned by Egidio and Brianna Lorenzi, who restored and furnished the estate when they moved here some twenty years ago. Egidio is a Tuscan by birth, returning home from a career in banking in Milan. His wife had only ever lived in the heart of the thriving metropolis but was easy to convince once she saw this amazing countryside.
The Lorenzis gave no thought to becoming wine producers at first. Brianna in particular devoted her time, energies and passion to restoring the 18th-century frescoes and buildings, furnishing them with authentic period pieces (most of the original contents had disappeared through the centuries). The couple inevitably made limited quantities of wine and olive oil for their own use and very soon, they realized it would have been a shame to keep such treasures to themselves.
Soil, microclimate, altitude and exposure are ideal: the vineyards face south on hilly, clayey-calcareous terrain (abundant shale) at 1,150 feet above sea level (350 meters), density is 5,000-6,600 vines per hectare and the training system is Guyot, spur-pruned cordon.
The very first winery here was built by those same parsons of the Siena cathedral who founded the Canonica around the year 1000, and is still extant. One thousand years later, in 2003, the Lorenzis (Egidio, Brianna and their son, Marco) added to this a state-of-the-art new one featuring stainless steel tanks for fermentation and barriques of French oak (used for a maximum of 3 years). The new cantina is perfectly integrated in its surroundings, built as it is underground, beneath a freshly planted olive grove.
A couple of years ago, enologist Matteo Bernabei joined the team. Total production is 130,000 bottles yearly: 90,000 of these Chianti Classico, 20,000 Chianti Classico Riserva and another 20,000 bottles of San Diavolo.
Source: http://www.empson.com/Italian-wine-producers/Canonica%20a%20Cerreto_p63.html