Exclusive wine, with a personal touch<\/h4>\n
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\u201cGuardastelle Estate<\/a> is considered one of the smallest establishments in the area,\u201d Fausto explains. \u201cWe have 12 acres of vineyards plus five acres of olive trees from which we also produce extra virgin olive oil.<\/p>\n \u201cWe produce five wines in small quantities so, we are very exclusive. For two of our vintages, we produce about 6000 bottles each, and only 3000 for the other three types. And they are only available here – you won’t find our wines in stores, restaurants or the nearest town.<\/p>\n \u201cAt Guardastelle, as a boutique winery we\u2019ve always been focused on people coming to our farm, to see firsthand the vineyards and try the wines. Each bears the DOCG certification, a sign of excellence and the most important certification of Italian wines.\u201d<\/p>\n For travel inspiration read our Italy destination guide<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n DOCG or Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita is the is the highest classification Italian wines can be awarded. The classification means that there are controlled production methods (controllata) and guaranteed wine quality (garantita) with each bottle.<\/p>\n This includes regulations such as no irrigation, maximum vineyard elevation, and regulations on ageing and maximum alcohol levels.<\/p>\n As a guest of Luxury Gold, you\u2019ll enjoy a private tour of the vineyards and the wine cellar. You\u2019ll hear all about the production process and enjoy a taste of Tuscany. \u201cWe\u2019ll explain what kind of varieties we have, and why we have these varieties relating to the certification to the DOCG and part of the production.<\/p>\n \u201cFor the tasting we present three wines from the current the vintage. These are usually the three DOCGs – the vernaccia white wine which is the local specialty, and the chiantis.\u201d<\/p>\n You may also enjoy: <\/em>Making it personal: How Travel Concierge Anna elevates your Italy experience<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThis is a family business, so we are involved in all the processes since from the winemaking to the tasting,\u201d says Fausto. \u201cThis also dictates how to make the wines. We are a very small farm, so it is not possible to harvest the grapes with the machine for example, so we do it by hand.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve no official record but architects say that the farmhouse is probably from the middle of the 1400\u2019s. This is because that the walls were made with a specific technique which is the same used to build the famous towers of San Gimignano town.<\/p>\n \u201cMy wife\u2019s family purchased it in the middle of the 1980\u2019s. From the young age of 21, she restarted the vineyard and wine production with three classic DOCG wines that she has now produced for almost 30 years. The estate has also produced extra virgin olive oil from the start.<\/p>\n \u201cIn 2017 we started to work on a couple of new wines which were born in 2021. So now we have the five typologies of wines.\u201d<\/p>\n You may also like: <\/em>This little gelateria in San Gimignano may just serve the best gelato in all of Italy<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n \u201cSan Gimignano is in the chianti wine region, a wine which has been produced in Italy for about five centuries,\u201d says Fausto. \u201cTo preserve the original characteristics of Italian winemaking and its wines, the government introduced regulations to keep a high standard quality product. This is the DOCG and is the certification that allows us to call our wine chianti.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cChianti must be made with a minimum of 75% of Sangiovese (a grape), and then there are few other varieties that we are allowed to use to blend. Even though it is possible to make a chianti from 100% Sangiovese, usually they are made with a blend of grapes.\u201d<\/p>\n All the wines produced by Tenuta Guardastelle bear this important DOCG certification. Some 78 red wines across Italy (including chianti) are on the list. There is however only one white wine included, the Vernaccia di San Gimignano.<\/p>\n Vernaccia di San Gimignano is a native grape variety with ancient historical origins. Renowned for its remarkable ageing capacity, it makes an excellent aperitif, pairs well with legumes and is exquisite with white meats.<\/p>\n You may also like: <\/em>Harry\u2019s Bars: The Story of Europe\u2019s Two Most Glamorous Watering Holes<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe DOCG regulations do not dictate how to harvest, whether by hand or machinery, or how to press the grapes. So, these methods depend entirely on the size of the farm,\u201d Fausto explains.<\/p>\n \u201cAs we are small, we do a manual harvest, which is also better anyway for the grape\u2019s quality. This helps to produce a natural, rather high sugar content in the berries, so that the DOCG standards are easily met.\u201d<\/p>\n You may also enjoy: <\/em>Award-winning Argentine wines you must try on your next trip<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe DOGC does regulate the days that you can harvest, although the time frame is very large. The time to harvest is dependent on the varieties and it depends a lot on the weather,\u201d Fausto says. \u201cWe know by the experience that the harvest time is around the beginning of September for the white grapes and middle third week of September for the red varieties.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, a few days before the planned harvest we start to control the grapes. We go in the vineyards and pick a few from all over the field. The grapes are then mixed together, because different parts of the vineyards can have slightly different maturation, before making an average of the sugar content.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe also taste them – with experience you know from their softness if they\u2019re ready. Then we look at the weather forecast to see that maybe these grapes need a week but if the weather is going to be bad, then we may need to harvest them in a couple of days.<\/p>\n \u201cThis, a taste of Tuscany, is probably one of the best parts. Because it’s almost ready. It\u2019s such a great feeling – every year is a new project with a new vintage.\u201d<\/p>\n You may enjoy: <\/em>The ultimate Luxury Gold souvenir guide to Europe<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n \u201cSome of these wines take up to three years to be ready,\u201d Fausto explains. \u201cSo, we will harvest the year\u2019s vintages around the start of October, and the white will start to serve as a wine tasting in almost two years. And the Chianti about four years.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is our personal choice because of the composition of the soil. Here the soil has a high minerality that gives a very high freshness to the wine, so it needs longer to mature.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, for example, not all the vernacchio\u2019s of the area are the same, and we usually don’t have the youngest of the vernacchio possible to taste. Because the other Tuscan wineries and vineyards don’t have such a high minerality, the life of their vernaccio is much shorter.\u201d<\/p>\n You may also enjoy reading: <\/em>Wine and Dine: A Guide to Private Wine Pairing in Italy\u2019s Most Exquisite Vineyards<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWe always guide guests through the tasting, a taste of Tuscany\u201d says Fausto. \u201cWe explain the three types of analysis. First is the visual, to check the color if the wine is clear or cloudy, and we show you how to do it with the white napkin on the back of the glass.<\/p>\n \u201cThen comes smell. Here we don’t say everything because we could stay a full day talking about it! We do tell you the categories that you can smell in a wine, depending on the variety. For example, vegetables or fruit. Then lastly, we have taste and we help you get deeper into the analysis. Every wine actually had different characteristics, or even if similar there are always some slight differences.<\/p>\nDOCG \u2013 the elite classification<\/h4>\n
A private tour<\/h4>\n
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\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nA boutique family business<\/h4>\n
True Chianti and Vernaccia<\/h4>\n
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<\/p>\nManual harvest<\/h4>\n
It\u2019s all in the timing<\/h4>\n
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<\/p>\nTime to mature \u2013 a unique minerality<\/h4>\n
Tasting tips<\/h4>\n
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