Val d’Orcia is probably the best groomed area in Tuscany. The hills show the care that generations of peasants have been applying to the soil with equal dedication for centuries. Here is where one of the most celebrated grapes is grown. Sangiovese is the name of the vine that yields a famous wine. Brunello owes its name to its somber color and to an old village of this land: Montalcino.

The soil at Montalcino: granitic, volcanic, galestro, schist and clay. Nikon D810, 24mm (24.0mm ƒ/1.4) 1/400 ƒ/11 ISO 800

Houses change hand and get renovated often, making this land one of the most expensive places on earth. Nikon D810, 24mm (24.0mm ƒ/1.4) 1/320 ƒ/7.1 ISO 64

Phragmites_australis. Nikon D810, 24mm (24.0mm ƒ/1.4) 1/320 ƒ/6.3 ISO 200

Bagno a Vignoni, the hot pool in Piazza del Moretto, with a caper plant in the foreground. Nikon D810, 24mm (24.0mm ƒ/1.4) 1/320 ƒ/4.5 ISO 400

Nikon D750, 400 mm (80-400.0 mm ƒ/4.5-5.6) 1/250 ƒ/9 ISO 100

Vinyard. Nikon D750, 400 mm (80-400.0 mm ƒ/4.5-5.6) 1/160 ƒ/9 ISO 100

Nikon D810, 24mm (24.0mm ƒ/1.4) 1/200 ƒ/4 ISO 64

Cypresses under the moon. Nikon D810, 38mm (24.0-120mm ƒ/4.0) 2″ ƒ/6.3 ISO 64

The hill and the village of Montalcino at dusk. Nikon D810, 85mm (24.0-120mm ƒ/4.0) 1.6 sec ƒ/6.3 ISO 64

Val d’Orcia, an old estate at dawn. Nikon D750, 400 mm (80-400.0 mm ƒ/4.5-5.6) 1,6 sec ƒ/9 ISO 100

The Cinelli Colombini family, land owners in Montalcino since 1352, has owned the Fattoria dei Barbi winery since the end of the 18th century. Nikon D810, 24mm (24.0mm ƒ/1.4) 1/80 ƒ/1.4 ISO 800

You can’t call it “Brunello” prior to five years total ageing, of which two years in oak cask and four months in bottle. Nikon D810, 24mm (24.0mm ƒ/1.4) 1/80 ƒ/1.4 ISO 800

The San’Antimo abbey at Castelnuovo dell’Abate, in the Montalcino area. Nikon D810, 24mm (24.0mm ƒ/1.4) 1/200 ƒ/7.1 ISO 64

La Val d’Orcia è  probabilmente la zona più curata di tutto il panorama toscano. Le colline ostentano la cura dedicata al territorio dai contadini con la stessa attenzione nel corso delle generazioni. In quest’area viene coltivato il vitigno di Sangiovese che produce il vino più famoso. Il Brunello deve il suo nome al suo colore scuro e a un antico borgo di questa terra: Montalcino.