The Wines of Pācina
It is difficult to say with exactness when Pacina first started to make wines; from the original Etruscans down to us, Pacina has witnessed the passing of innumerable generations.
The modern history of Pacina starts in the 1960s, when the sun finally set on the traditional share-cropping system and our family started to manage the farm directly.
From the moment of it’s acquisition in the 1930s, Pacina was the ‘country house’ of our family who lived in the medieval town of Siena, some 20 km west of Pacina. In 1972 it became the ‘family house when Giovanna’s dad, Enzo, decided to relocate to and live permanently at Pacina in order to better conserve the property. Enzo and Lucia, Giovanna’s mum, worked at the University of Siena and there became pioneers of environmentalist movement in Italy. Enzo was a professor of physical chemistry and author of several books which still remembered today as important and original contributions to the concept of sustainability.
Ever since the first bottles of wine made under the DOC Colli Senesi protocols of 1967 up until 1987, when the red wines of Pacina as we know them today were first produced, our vision has been determined by both the economic necessities of the family and the conviction of the ecological philosophies of Giovanna’s parents. Lucia is a biologist and writer and she was the midwife to the very first bottle of Pacina.
At first only a part of the wine was bottled; the rest was sold loose by volume and most of this was used to impart structure to red wines produced in the northern part of the Chianti region. Pacina is located on the southern slopes of the Chianti hills where the soil is the ‘Tufo di Siena’ typical of the area. This soil was deposited from prehistoric seas that covered the landscape during the Pliocene and were deposited about 5 million years ago. It is a predominantly sandy terrain which also contains lime, clay and small rounded pebbles known locally as “ciottoli” whose characteristic shape was moulded by the oscillation of the sea-waves and the flux of river water running off the hills. Pacina is shielded to the north by the Chianti hills but is completely exposed to sun and wind on the other sides. Together with the particular nature of the soil, this disposition imparts the typical tannic flavours and freshness of Sangiovese but also confers body, warmth, and colour.
The uniqueness of this landscape inspired us to transform the way we make wine. Since the 1980s we have bottled our wine with the absolute minimum of intervention in the winery and above all in complete respect for the ecosystem which, more than any other input, determines the characteristics of our wine and allows us to guarantee the integrity of the terroir and the salubriousness of the wine.
It was with this vision that Pacina 1987 was born, then still a certified Chianti Colli Senesi wine. Using the grapes selected from the oldest vines, the wine was made following a completely natural process and, finally, bottled without the addition of sulphur dioxide.
The road ahead from there became clear and, since 1992, Giovanna and Stefano determined to apply the spontaneous natural processes of fermentation and ageing to all the grape varieties that are used too make wine.
To know more about our individual wines, click on the bottles.
Pācina
Villa Pacina
La Sorpresa
Donesco
La Cerretina
Canaiolo
La Malena
Rosato
