Silvio Messana created Montesecondo. It was not a sudden idea, nor a whim to take off, but a path started from the music and resulted in passion for the culture of wine. His passion for music led him to enroll at the University of Berkeley in Boston. In the United States the journey to wine begins once he moved to New York, where he has the determination to work as a composer of soundtracks and at the same time a wine seller in Manhattan for Michael Skurnik, flanked by leading figures in the wine import market such as Polaner and David Bowler. They are years of growth in all aspects of wine and the good fortune to return to Italy and be able to start thinking about the land owned by the family in San Casciano in Val di Pesa are the last steps before the decision that leads him to return to Italy and devote himself completely to the vineyard and the winery. In 2000 he bottled the first vintage of Montesecondo and in 2003 converted the property to organic. Today Silvio Messana’s company covers about 17 hectares. The soils on which Silvio mainly cultivates Sangiovese then Cabernet Sauvignon and Trebbiano are formed in the area of Cerbaia, at 250 mslm, from clay with sandy strands and presence of galestro, in Vignano instead, at 450 mslm, there is more presence of limestone. The spontaneous vinification of Silvio, often carried out in the open air, is all played in keeping the lively and crisp spirit of Sangiovese, with textures in wines increasingly fresh and delicate, far from what has become the traditional vein of Chianti, to be more authentic. The wines of Silvio tell a story of territory, care and passion for the land, tell his sensitivity and his artistic flair.
San Casciano in Val di Pesa is the northernmost municipality for the production of Chianti Classico, and the closest to Florence. Dotted with olive trees is purely hilly, characterized by clay soils with the presence of sand and limestone. The soil is accompanied by a strong presence of skeleton, both round pebble of river origin that stones of galestro and alberese that can vary in concentration depending on the slope and the altitudes of the vineyards.
The soils, ensuring a good availability of water, protect from the hottest and siccitose vintages that lately turn out to be increasingly frequent in Tuscany. The altitudes are between 250 and 350 meters above sea level. Cool and dry climate has the fortune to have a climate always mild, with winters never too cold and temperatures that even in summer never become excessive.
