Graziella and Gianfranco Soldera worked for 40 years to enhance the land and soil that nourishes their Sangiovese vineyards in Case Basse®. More than just a winery, the property has played host to ongoing viticultural research and constant efforts to improve winemaking in the region. Gianfranco Soldera promoted studies and research linked to the Sangiovese grape with an award he set up to enable the winery to finance young people who carry out research on the variety.

They enforce an utmost adherence to nature and terroir, hardly interfering in the vinification process and thereby deferring always to the inherent nuances and splendor of their fruit. The natural vinegrowing and winemaking project at Soldera® is based on a fundamental principle: to produce a fine wine it is necessary to look after not only the vines, but also the surrounding environment. Gianfranco and Graziella renovated abandoned buildings on the estate and restored them to their original Tuscan farmhouse architecture, made up of dry, stone walls where swallows, robins, and small mammals, such as squirrels, find refuge, as well as many, many insects.

At harvest time, the grapes are hand-sorted three times to ensure that every bit of fruit is up to the family’s discriminating standards. The Sangiovese is then fermented in large Slavonian oak vats in the specially designed cellar of Soldera, away from temperature changes, humidity fluctuations, and vibrations. The cellar at Case Basse is located 14m underground and was built using only natural materials and carefully avoiding concrete. It is a place made for wine: “a belly destined to house and protect something precious,” to use Gianfranco Soldera’s own words. After the wine has completed fermentation, it is racked and aged, then bottled right in the cellar and aged another few months prior to the vintage release. Every one of their annual 15,000 resulting bottles is unparalleled.

(Photos below are property of Società Agricola Case Basse di Gianfranco Soldera SRL. All rights reserved.)