FABs for FOPs # 6 /10 : Winemakers

Only a very few winemakers – enologi – work in Montalcino.

I’ll leave a pause for this statement and its implications to sink in.

So how many? Perhaps nine or ten, four of whom only work for one estate. That's over 200 wineries “sharing” the winemaking expertise of the remaining five or six people. This even strikes me as improbable as I write – and I know it’s true. Several estates do their own winemaking and might use an external technician for lab analyses and cross controls. Our own esteemed enologo, Paolo Vagaggini, works with a third of Montalcino’s wineries, including Poggio Antico, Biondi Santi and Eredi Fuligni. He also has a third of Montepulciano’s wineries under his belt.

How can this be?
Wineries are generally small here in Montalcino. 75% of the estates have less than 15 acres… which means that a winemaker as a consultant is the only viable possibility.

What does this mean?
Winemakers rely on estate staff to follow their instructions from a distance so cellar workers end up with a lot of winemaking responsibilities. This set-up means that estates need someone at the helm with a philosophy for wine and wine-making who then works with the winemaker. Estate expertise is prized and the boundaries between different jobs are more permeable here in Montalcino than in wineries in other parts of the world.