Andrea Cortonesi
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“For me, becoming an independent farmer was a life-choice.
Although I was born into a farming family, my life could have taken another path. Then in
1986, I purchased the Uccelliera estate
I barely had time to become acquainted with the last embers of “old-style”
farming, when Brunello was still little mentioned.
Then everything changed. But I drew the vital essence from that vanished world. The love
of the land from whose fruits you respectfully ask in order
to live.
When I began to work a land that at last I owned, I realised that I might also have been
looking for a lifestyle and a relationship with the land that went beyond a purely
commercial result.”
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“When I look at my estate, I think of the centuries of history it has seen.
At least seven are documented and others can easily be imagined.
I arrived but I can’t think that everything is beginning today just because I make
Brunello. So I kept the name of the estate, which also became the name of my company, and
maintained the architecture of the original building, which would soon become my
headquarters when I had created suitable office spaces.
I also left half a hectare of olive grove that stood near the house.
It might seem an odd decision, when you think of the much greater yields of a vineyard.
But the land makes me reflect that if you ask too much of it, you pay the price in quality
of life. Being able to have dinner in the open air next to this olive grove, and looking
out onto the vines without worrying that you might be interfering with their welfare, is a
very precious thing.” |
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“My
estate is beautiful not because it looks like a postcard but because there is so much
history and nature hereabouts.
The ancient alabaster quarries, which supplied the most precious parts of the abbey of
Sant’Antimo, border my vineyards.
History has no influence on the land itself but it does model the behaviour of those who
work it.
It teaches respect and a will to go forward. |
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"I want to plant a garden round the
estate, next to the vines.
I want it to be part vegetables and part flowers, both practical and attractive.
They say people used to plant gardens that way in ancient times but for me that’s how
you should farm today.” |
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“Farming nowadays demands a lot of
personal commitment but cannot be considered an individual enterprise.
You have to grow with others because if I make a mistake, my neighbour suffers and vice
versa. That’s why I devote some time to the collective life of the farming community,
to meetings, and to studying everything - apart from the fields - that is part of our
work.
Farming is a crucial business for the whole of society. It should be performed with
awareness and responsibility.” |
