Around the year 1000 A.D , the canons of Siena's cathedral decided to construct a new abbey not too far from the city. The abbey was to be located on a panoramic hillside in the middle of a forest filled with "cerri" - turkey oak trees- and it was here that Canonica a Cerreto was built. The word "Cerreto" derives from this particular kind of tree, quercus cerris.
In 1700 A.D., it returned to Siena's clergy, who converted it into a summer villa for the bishop. The interior of the villa's chapel was refashioned to a style more appropriate for the age, and its rooms frescoed by Sienese painters.
More than 300 years later, Canonica a Cerreto returned to private ownership.
Located on the old border between the former republics of Siena and Florence, the monastery witnessed years of fierce fighting between the two rivals including the historic Battle of Monteaperti, described by Italy's most famous poet, Dante Alighieri.
In 1400 A.D., Canonica a Cerreto was bought by a noble family from Cerretani, who renovated the villa according to the popular Renaissance style of the time.
In 1700 A.D., it returned to Siena's clergy, who converted it into a summer villa for the bishop. The interior of the villa's chapel was refashioned to a style more appropriate for the age, and its rooms frescoed by Sienese painters.
More than 300 years later, Canonica a Cerreto returned to private ownership.
Our goal of making high quality wines necessitates attentive care in the vineyard. After the winter pruning our work on the vines and soil goes on practically uninterrupted until the second half of July. Then we remove some of the bunches so that the remaining grapes can mature in the best possible circumstances.
The harvest takes places between September and the first half of October. The grapes are picked by hand. Once they have been de-stemmed they undergo fermentation in stainless steel vats. During fermentation the skins tend to rise to the surface. We re-emerge them in the wine, pumping the wine out and performing delestages in order to effect the best maceration of the grapes.
The malolactic fermentation takes place immediately after the grapes are separated from the skins.
At the end of the year the wine is transferred into oak barriques.
After the aging in wood the wine is bottled. It spends several months bottle aging before commercial release.