Page 8 - Code de Vino, #14/20, w/s 2017

6 Wine Club Code de Vino #14 Code de Vino #14 Maestro Franco Biondi Santi 7

The following is an interview in honor of the outstanding wine producer
Franco Biondi Santi, known during his lifetime as the patriarch of Italian
winemaking. His name has come to symbolize exceptional quality
in traditional Italian wine. Franco's family were among the first pioneers
to create the amazing Tuscan wine Brunello di Montalcino. The history
of the Biondi Santi winemaking family, the philosophy, and bouquets
of traditional Italian wines — this interview between Oleg Cherne,
Editor-in-Chief of Code de Vino, and Franco Biondi Santi covers it all.

Brunello di Montalcino DOCG is an outstanding Italian
wine from the south of Tuscany. The wine is produced
in small quantities using Brunello grapes local variety
of Sangiovese. Brunello berries are larger than your
regular Sangiovese, but their clusters are smaller,
and the vines bear less fruit. This helps the grapes
ripen better and makes the wine richer and more
tannic. In turn, this allows it to mature more organically
Maestro Franco maturing Brunello di Montalcino in barrels for no less
and store better. Traditional procedure prescribes
than two years, then four more years in bottles before
it can be purchased.
Biondi Santi Only wine from Montalcino can bear the name
Brunello. The terroir of this area is very diverse,
its numerous hills dividing the land into different areas
with their own microclimates. The lower part is hot and
dry, and the upper (northern) part is colder with more
rain. This affects the quality of the local wines, giving
Interview by Oleg Cherne them a denser structure. Both the north and the south
produce amazing wines, but they are very different.
Brunello Grapes