Camigliano has a very long history. Known in Etruscan times, it was a rural neighborhood of some size in the Middle Ages, which subsequently obtained some economic independence as a typical, small sharecropping property.
The business was acquired in 1957 by the Ghezzi family, and the current proprietor, Gualtiero Ghezzi, has put a great deal of energy into modernizing the company, which now comprises 530 hectares, 90 of which are vineyards.
He has planted new Brunello vineyards (50 hectares) and built a new wine cellar, completely underground, the construction of which took place at the same time as the restoration of the town - one of the "ancient Tuscan towns".
Each year, the company produces about 330,000 bottles (Brunello di Montalcino, Rosso di Montalcino, IGT Toscana "Poderuccio," Cabernet Sauvignon St. Antimo "Campo ai Mori", Moscadello di Montalcino, Chianti Colli Senesi, "Borgone" table wine), which are exported to more than 30 countries, using the best selection of grapes, with a limited per hectare yield.
Soil: sandy, marly clay with fossils Camigliano offers the opportunity to see those strange features of the land called "calanchi".
Weather is windy and dry. It is the place of mediterranean scrub, with blueberry and wild strauberry, a favoured habitat of wild boar, porcupines,weasels and deer.
The landscape is constantly changing from the green of spring, to yellow-gold of summer, to the intense brown of autumn, punctuated by evergreen patches of mediterranean scrub.
In the clear summer's nights one can see the main constellations and the Milky Way.
The old cellar, located beneath the walls of the old farm, is a perfect place to store vintage wines and for wine tasting. The new cellar is located completely underground in order to preserve the integrity of the landscape and to age the wine properly, in barrels and in bottles.
For this purpose, both the temperature and the humidity are maintained at optimum levels (around 14° C - 80% humidity).
The work flow has been studied closely to keep the use of pumps to a minimum.
Fermentation tanks are equipped for heating and cooling in order to maintain complete control of maceration during and after fermentation. Their special shape makes it possible to regulate the extraction of the beneficial part of the peel, keeping external intervention to a minimum.
The wooden barrels in which the wine is aged are kept in spacious areas and are primarily medium to large in size (50-60 hectoliters), the best size for the long aging process required for Brunello.
The Holiday Farmhouse
Camigliano has four apartments available for guests - accommodations that have recently been restored and have maintained the charm of the old Tuscan farmhouses.
Agritourism guests can visit the cellar and sample wines in the old tasting room. The nearby restaurant offers local specialties.
Agritourism at Camigliano is also the perfect departure point for country excursions, to admire the strange, rocky, red-earth erosions known as "calanchi".
Close by the agritourism area and the town of Camigliano it is possible to visit some of the principal towns in the Province of Siena: Montalcino and its Rocca (fortress), Pienza with its Palace of Pope Pius II, Montepulciano with its elegant streets and glorious Church of S. Biagio, standing alone on a hill. Then, for the tireless art lover: San Quirico d'Orcia with its elegant collegiate church, the Abbey of St. Antimo, which brings to mind, with its floorplan in the shape of a Latin cross and its bestiaries, an old French abbey.