Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1061132
{ SOMMjournal.com } 73 by Michelle Ball / photos by Jeremy Ball Nestled in the wooded mountains northeast of Florence, Castello del Trebbio is a medieval castle with an illustri- ous past that also serves as the family home of Anna Baj Macario and her husband, Stefano Casadei. Anna's father purchased the property, where she and her four siblings were raised, in 1968. When her parents died just months apart in 1988, the family was forced to quickly decide its fate, and the young couple partnered with Anna's brother to finance the property. Together, they paid off the rest of their siblings over the course of a decade. Although the family had always produced wine, a focus on high-quality farming and production didn't begin at Castello del Trebbio until the late 1990s. Stefano was already working in the wine industry as a trained agrono - mist and winemaker when he met Anna, and together he and his wife expanded their vision for the estate. In addition to their 150-acre vineyard, they cultivate olive trees, saffron, and spelt to produce homemade pastas. Passionate about olive oil, Anna manages their estate program and is also working on a cosmetics line made from leftover materials. A constant innovator, Stefano also founded Tecnovite Toscana, which provides consulting and management services for wine producers in the vineyard and the cellar. While walking with Stefano, I found myself fascinated by the ingenuity of the Casadei properties. A natural solution to a classic problem awaited at every turn, including the planting of pumpkins in compost piles (the broad leaves provide shade in the summer months, reducing water use). "You just need to dig into nature and you'll find all of the solutions," Stefano told me with a smile. The Le Anfore Project In 2007, Stefano was invited to share his knowledge of mod- ern European winemaking tech- niques with other producers in the Caucasus winegrowing region. During his visit, however, he was drawn to their tradi- tional use of amphorae, and the winery has since experimented with vessels from Georgia for both fermentation and aging, incorporating small percentages in all of its final blends. When Stefano's daughter Elena became involved at the winery, he tasked her with managing the amphora program. He says that while she thrived on that intimate connection to the grapes and At an elevation of 450 meters (roughly 1,475 feet) above sea level, the Lastricato vineyard is located in the Chianti Rufina DOCG, the smallest DOCG subzone in Chianti. The high altitude and large diurnal temperature swings allow for a longer hang time and the development of softer, more supple tannins. All Chiantis from Castello del Trebbio are aged in large barrels in the castle's cellar. "We are keeping with tradition but also trying to change the tradition in a modern way," proprietor Anna Baj Macario explains. The Le Anfore line consists of small- batch, single-varietal wines from Casadei's traditional amphora program.