Massetano - Vermentino Bianco di Candia dei Colli Apuani DOC

The L'Aurora di Francesco winery was established in 2004,' Pietro says, sitting in a cool corner of his farmhouse. 'We took over the old family vineyards that both my father and grandfather used to make wine and sell it in bulk, and we started bottling. A choice that in Candia is not as easy as in other areas of Italy because here the hills have steep slopes, the farms are often difficult even to reach, and all the work has to be done by hand. So-called heroic viticulture, and not by chance. When one speaks of heroic vine-growing,' says Pietro, 'one immediately thinks of the wines of Trentino, Valle d'Aosta, but here the terrain is very steep and can even reach a slope of 90%. One of our vineyards is about 300 metres above sea level, as the crow flies it is less than 2 kilometres from the sea itself, so you can imagine how quickly you can get to these altitudes and the effort you can put in manually to cultivate. Despite the difficulties, L'Aurora di Francesco makes quality wines and experiments with the varieties of the land and beyond while producing 'premium' wines.