Francesco Mulinari, while a Montalcino native, does not come from a winemaking family. His father whimsically purchased 1 hectare of land, nestled up to the walls of the city center of Montalcino in the early 80’s as a place to bring the family to picnic, nothing more. Previously this hectare had grazing sheep, and a small farm, ‘L’Aietta’ means little farm courtyard. Early in his highschool years, Francesco discovered that this little picnic spot with its few vines was registered in the DOCG of Brunello, and that on this ancient stoned terraced piece of land, he could produce his own wine and the rest is now histroy.

Montalcino is considered one of Italy’s greatest red wine growing areas, alongside Barolo and Barberesco in Piemonte and Chianti Classico, its slightly northern Tuscan cousin. Its terrain is different from that of Chianti, however. While Chianti is thick with brush, spiked Cyprus trees and hidden pockets of vineyards, Montalcino is wide open with rolling hills often brown brush and grass dried from the sweltering sun.