ORGANIC ORCHARD

This autumn saw the beginnings of an ambitious new project: on sunny uncultivated land on the edges of the vineyards between Vignamaggio and Vitigliano, Vignamaggio’s organic fruit orchard is slowly taking shape.

The idea for an orchard originated as an aspiration to diversify cultivation and to move away from the “vineyard/olive grove” duo that has dominated the Chianti landscape for at least 70 years.

The orchard was envisioned as a peaceful and silent place, somewhere to take a stroll or enjoy a picnic in the shade of the plum trees.At the moment, all that still seems like a dream: frost covers the grass and the trees are still small, held up by stakes, supporting them as they grow tall.

After several surveys, the area of land to be

planted was marked out and organic compost and fertilisers worked into it.

50 pomegranate trees, 180 plums, 50 fig trees, 30 apricots, apples and pears were planted and smaller fruits like ribes and raspberries are on the way.

Both old and modern varieties of tree were selected for each fruit, enriching the heterogeneity of the trees and eventually the flavours of the fruits.

Jams, preserves, fruit juices, sumptuous jam tarts for our guests’ breakfasts?

Rest assured, we will keep you updated on the future of all this fruit.

We wanted to record this work in progress right from the start, so that you could be involved in these months

of change happening at Vignamaggio.