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An insider guide to our regions

Overview of the Tenuta di Gracciano

A wine estate between Cortona and Montepulciano.

The Gracciano Estate lies in the lush and ample Chiana valley which runs south of Florence from Arezzo to Orvieto. The valley is above all renowned for its wine, the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, and the succulent T-bone steaks from the wide-horned white Chianina cattle.

This area between Montepulciano and Cortona was described by Frances Mayes in her bestseller „Under the Tuscan Sun“. Her beautifully written memoir about taking chances, living in Italy, loving a house, and, always, the pleasures of food encaptures the delights of a Tuscan holiday. Mayes often portrays life in Cortona as timeless, and this sense of serendipity is only one of the reasons to come to Gracciano.

The Tenuta di Gracciano belonged to the Svetoni family since the beginning of the 1800’s. From this family of historic wine makers from Montepulciano the property passed down some 40 years ago to the present owners, the della Seta family from Florence.

A spectacular new winery was built in 2013 and in 2015 the estate converted to organic farming. The favorable microclimate, the exposure of the vineyards, and the clay and limestone soil combine to produce a full-bodied yet supple and elegant wine. In 2016 their Riserva was awarded « bicchieri » the highest award by the Gambero Rosso, Italy’s most prestigious wine guide.

The estate extends over 100 hectares of which 20 are planted with vines. The vineyards are spread over the Gracciano hills at 300 meters above sealevel, one of the best wine-growing areas of Montepulciano. Fields and woodland form a picturesque patchwork over the rest of the estate surrounding the Maramai and the La Stufa farmhouse villas which can be rented by the week.

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