about Elisabetta and Montinedoli
Montenidoli is a place so rooted in tradition and history that sometimes it is hard to remember that Elisabetta (and Sergio) didn't grow up here. So deeply ingrained are the "old ways" and the "traditional vines" that you sipping a Montenidoli wine, you can almost taste the wines imbibed by the Knights of the Templar as they stayed in San Gimignano on the way to whatever crusade was calling
for me, the story of Montinedoli is the love story of Elisabetta and Sergio. They came to this place for many reasons - leaving behind the tradition of arranged marriage & the expectation of Italian royalty - drawn by the spirituality and the wildness of the abandoned vineyards & olive groves.
Montenidoli means the mountain of the little nests. When Sergio & Elisabetta arrived they had nine children with them - it was 1965.
Elisabetta was born to a family that had cultivated vines and olive trees not far from Verona, since the 1700s. In her childhood, she was surrounded by music, art and agriculture - she loved to wander in the Valpolicella vineyards. Sergio was a poet and a teacher - always with humility and a sense of humor, Sergio was the pillar who gave new life to Montenidoli. With his love, his hard work and his Elisabetta, he reawakened the abandoned fields, the vines and olive trees. Sergio always chose to remain behind the scenes and while they were always a team, Elisabetta bore the task of bringing Montenidoli's wines to the world. Sergio was the great oak, giving warmth, strength and courage to all those who have worked, work and will work for Montenidoli. He remains Elisabetta's great love!
The land has always been treated with the greatest respect - both of them believed in letting the land speak through it's fruit. Montenidol works exclusively naturally not because it’s fashionable but because it is how it should be done. Like the children, they always believed sunlight and clean air are the best medicine to make the vines healthy, strong, resistant to disease as well as to bad weather.
And the wines are alive in way that their love and Elisabetta is alive. They vibrate energy, astounding grace, beauty and balance.
And respecting the tradition of San Gimignano, all the vineyards are restored and/or planted with indigenous varietals: Vernaccia, San Gimignano’s historic white grape, and also Sangiovese, Canaiolo, Trebbiano Gentile, and Malvasia Bianca, the traditional grapes of Chianti.
And befitting the great love story - the first wine was born in a great vintage — 1971.
Sergio passed away in 2012. In his honor, Elisabetta created the Sergio the Patriarch foundation, which helps troubled youth and elderly people in need.
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“This is not only a sensational San Gimignano estate but also a benchmark for the whole of Italy, thanks to its history, style and deep-rooted, radical convictions
… Montenidoli is an extremely prestigious exponent of the natural movement, producing wines that are both incredibly land-rooted and show outstanding personality.”
Gambero Rosso, Italian Wine Guide
“The essential ingredient of Elisabetta Fagiuoli’s wines is soul, and you can’t describe soul. You have to sense it, taste it, relate to it.”
Nicolas Belfrage, The Finest Wines of Tuscany and Central Italy
