Stefano Amerighi is today a legitimate worldwide Syrah superstar. His farm was born, back in 2001, from a wish that matured in his mind over the years, to be able to produce a grand Syrah through the farming traditions of his family’s passion, knowledge and the practice of biodynamics. In order to reach this objective, Stefano Amerighi identified an area of Chiuso di Cortona, named Poggiobello di Farneta, in the middle of which, as though it is a cru, there are two well exposed hills to south, south-east, closed within an old pebbly street to the west, a grove to the south and a ridge to the east to close the panorama. The climatic and geological research carried out on the farm had later confirmed that this was the suitable terroir for bedding out clones and the selections of Syrah, personally chosen with care in Cotes du Rhone by Stefano himself. 

It is one of only a few places in Italy that could consider Syrah grape variety as indigenous; in fact it is historically proven that Syrah has a presence in Cortona dating back to the late 1700s. Since the beginning, Stefano has adhered to the principles espoused by Rudolf Steiner (biodynamic) and Masanobu Fukuoka (permacultura).  He views the farm as a complex holistic system, with his extremely picturesque vineyard densely planted to 7000 vines per hectare. 

During the fermentation process, portions of his Syrah are left as a whole cluster, while the best are saved for a light foot pressing. After a manual transfer to the cement tanks, fermentation occurs spontaneously without any temperature control or intervention. The young wines are then transferred to wood and cement tanks where they rest and clarify for 14 months before being bottled unfixed and unfiltered.

When he started this project in 2001, a few people considered him a visionary, but most thought of him as a bischero." (KR: Tuscan dialect. Literally 'tuning fork,' but colloquially 'a fool'). 

                                                  Today, Stefano is the president of the consorzio of Cortona

* Stefano is also one of six winemakers collaborating at Halara' in Marsala, a 1ha rejuvenated vineyard of Parpato grape variety. An idea that came up after the six families’s visit in the cycladic island of Tinos, in Greece…………… 

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