Paolo Salviucci talks about his Campotondo Winery

The second stop is the winery “Campotondo” where the plants are trained as little trees ( “alberello”) from which three  Orcia wines of character are produced

My journey of discovery of the faces of Orcia wine continues in the heart of the Orcia River Valley. This time I’m near an impressive (now inactive) volcano, Mount Amiata, precisely in the municipality of di Castiglione d’Orcia. Right under the medieval village of  Campiglia d’Orcia there is the “Campotondo” estate. Situated at 800 meters above sea level it dominates the valley and the ancient Francigena route that leads from the north to Rome.

The second face to be “discovered” belongs to  Paolo Salviucci, an Orcia wine producer and the father of a family which,  with great will power and spirit of initiative began this activity in 2000. When I arrived in the winery I found Paolo working in the cellars, everything was ready to welcome the new grape harvest.

He readily took a break to show me around and tell me his story…..

“ In my family” he said “ the passion for wine has never been missing. This meant that 16 years ago I decided to establish the Campotondo estate. Once grapes were made into table wine for family use but since the year 2000 quality wines have been produced thanks to the arrival of technology but the traditions of thepast  have not been abandoned. “Campotondo” is situated in an unusual micro zone where the particular soil and ventilation at 500 meters of altitude promises healthy grapes that ripen well. I decided to try growing Sangiovese with the old system of “alberello” vines which permits the growth of quality grapes but requires a lot of manual work. My three red  Orcia doc wines “Banditone” “Mezzodì” and “Il Tocco” reveal decided character. If I had to describe Orcia doc in one word I’d use “variety”, the various facets that give character to this wine. My products confirm this, the annual number of bottles produced is around 8,500, and among these there is Chardonnay, a satisfying white wine. But we don’t only produce wine in “Campotondo”, our extra virgin olive oil is something  special.”

“Campotondo” said Paolo “is not yet certified as organic but many of the techniques employed  mirror this philosophy. If I had to indicate Orcia wine as a genre of music I’d say jazz, not only as a personal choice but because just as jazz is the expression of an afro-American culture so Orcia wine represents the traditions of the Val d’Orcia and improvisation, typical of jazz  may appear to be present in the youth of Orcia wine but  actually carries with it the history of a territory famous for its wine, where agricultural tradition and innovation combine to create world famous wines”.

“There is nothing like a challenge to bring out the best in a man” (Sean Connery)