Sassotondo – A Tuscan Winery Rooted in Heritage and Old Vines
Sassotondo – A Tuscan Winery Rooted in Heritage and Old Vines
Sassotondo is a family-owned and operated winery nestled near the medieval village of Pitigliano, in southern Tuscany. Founded in the early 1990s by Carla Benini, an agronomist from Trentino, and Edoardo Ventimiglia, a former documentary filmmaker from Rome, Sassotondo has grown into a benchmark for artisanal, sustainable winemaking. From its first vintage in 1997, the winery has remained dedicated to organic viticulture, with certification dating back to 1994, and an unwavering focus on local grape varieties, minimal intervention, and expressive terroir.
Set atop the volcanic plateau surrounding Lake Bolsena, the estate’s 72 hectares of land encompass a mosaic of vineyards, olive groves, grasslands, and woodlands. Just a quarter of the land is cultivated: seven hectares are dedicated to olive trees, and twelve to vines. The area’s unique volcanic soils — rich in tuff (tufo) — along with a Mediterranean climate and high diurnal temperature shifts at 300 meters above sea level, produce wines of vibrant acidity, salinity, spice, and elegance.
Sassotondo’s viticultural philosophy centers on indigenous varieties, particularly Ciliegiolo, an ancient grape native to central Italy. In fact, five of their thirteen labels are single-varietal Ciliegiolo wines, each expressing different vineyard microzones and winemaking styles. Alongside Ciliegiolo, Sassotondo cultivates Greco, Nocchianello Nero — a nearly forgotten, hyper-local variety the estate helped revive — as well as Sangiovese, Teroldego, Merlot, Trebbiano, Sauvignon Blanc, and Viognier.
A cornerstone of the winery’s identity is the San Lorenzo vineyard, acquired in 1991. Already old by local standards at the time of purchase, San Lorenzo was planted in the 1960s and consists primarily of Ciliegiolo, with a small mix of other traditional varieties. These old vines, with their deep, established root systems intertwined with the volcanic tufo rock, have shown exceptional resilience in the face of climate change, consistently producing high-quality grapes even as younger vineyards falter in warmer, drier years.
The grapes from San Lorenzo form the basis of Sassotondo’s Cru wine, “San Lorenzo,” a pure expression of Ciliegiolo that reflects the vineyard’s heritage and character. Recognizing the genetic and cultural value of these vines, Sassotondo has carried out massal selections from the best plants to propagate new Ciliegiolo vineyards, ensuring that the legacy of San Lorenzo continues for future generations.
Preserving old vines comes with challenges: diseases like Esca, especially prevalent in Guyot-trained vineyards, and low productivity make their maintenance labor-intensive and financially demanding. Nonetheless, Sassotondo is committed to honoring and preserving this living heritage, understanding that old vines are not only a source of complexity and concentration in wine but also custodians of biodiversity and local identity.
Today, Sassotondo remains a place of innovation and tradition, where a cellar carved into tufo rock houses small vats for experimental fermentations, and where every wine tells the story of land, history, and the enduring passion of its stewards.
