AZ. AGRICOLA TENUTA SAN FRANCESCO – TINTORE AMALFI COAST

The towns of Positano and Amalfi sprawling up from the sea to fill every available space on the cliffs. Sipping wine on a restaurant terrace in Positano with that special someone . . .

However, for a wine connoisseur, few things in the Amalfi Coast are as magical as the first sight of the 200 year old pre-phyllozera Tintore vines at the Tenuta San Francesco. The trunks of these vines are almost a foot in diameter and they look like trees. Standing under them gives you a sense of history and tradition and an awe of the beauty of nature when it left undisturbed and allowed to reach its full maturity.

The Di Palma family started the winery in 2004. All of their vineyards are situated on steep-sloped terraced lands between 300 and 500 metres above sea level. The vineyards are planted in volcanic soil, have high-density plantings, and very low yields – only 70-90 quintals per hectare. The heart of their farm is four hectares of pre-phyllozera Tintore and Piedrosso vines that are at least 100 years old that go to make the Tramonti Rosso. There is also 2.5 hectares of white grapes that make the Tramonti Bianco including Falanghina, Biancolella, and Pepella.

The family makes a half dozen wines that are all excellent but the most special of them all is a wine made only from the Tintore grapes called E’ISS which means “This is it”. The name comes from the fact that other wineries have begun to make Tintore wines from younger clones of the vines but this is the original Tintore wine from the 200 year old pre-phylloxera grapes. Really – “This is it”.