From Il Palazzone:
News
Lavender attracts butterflies and bees and it’s wonderful perfume mixes with the jasmine that is everywhere in Montalcino. The butterflies at Il Palazzone are a testament to our responsible vineyard practices. A sidenote: everyone should try lavender honey at least… Read the rest 
Montalcino is full of music in July. On 3rd July at 18.30, an 80 piece Swiss youth orchestra is giving a free concert in the Fortess. They will be performing some Fellini film soundtracks and a couple of numbers from The Nutcracker and The Magic Flute.
The… Read the rest 
The age old dilemma of what wine to order when you go to a restaurant as a couple and one of you wants to order steak while the other wants to order fish usually boils down to the same simple… Read the rest 
Summer is officially with us and after the heavy rains that marked the beginning of June, we now have summer heat and balmy evenings, fireflies and nightingales. The grapes are flourishing under the loving surveillance of Marco, Paolo (our enologist) and Massimo… Read the rest 
Another 10 cm of rain fell in Montalcino between Sunday 5th and Wednesday 8th June but today it is bright, hot and clear. We can see the sea from the property, less than 40 km as the crow flies.
Last… Read the rest 
Last week Marco and our architect, Marco Pignattai, undertook a long drive to the province of Cuneo in Piedmont, a town bizarrely famous for being the home to Italy’s worst drivers. They went to inspect a door for our new cellar.… Read the rest 
Have you checked out our new mobile website yet? While the content is the same as if you accessed the page from your computer, the new design is geared especially towards when you browse the page on your phone, making it… Read the rest 
While our wine has remained traditional in every way, Il Palazzone is a pioneer in embracing technology that allows us to connect more directly with those who enjoy our wines and olive oil. We were the first estate in… Read the rest 
We are gearing up to dropping some fruit next week with our first green harvest of the year. The vineyards have all been “zappate” – hand-hoed – so that the soil can absorb whatever water comes their way. Bear in… Read the rest 
On Monday 30th May there was a members’ meeting at the Consorzio del Brunello. A vote was passed to further reduce yields per hectare. Now only up to 6.000 kg of grapes can be harvested per hectare for the production of Brunello, rather… Read the rest 
Recently I enjoyed reading a post by Elizabeth Minchilli in her blog about “the good stuff in Italy.” It was about her foraging inferiority complex and included a recipe for some greens she had ended up “picking” off the… Read the rest 
Rose bushes at the end of each row of vines are a common sight in wine areas in both the Old and the New World. Montalcino is no exception, at least on those vineyards that are adjacent to public roads,… Read the rest 
The deer are out in force, attracted by the fresh budlets on the vines. Two of our vineyards are flanked by woods and, far from asphalted roads and traffic, we are particularly vulnerable. The damage a couple of grazing… Read the rest 
Focusing their most recent issue on the much-talked about five star vintage of 2006, Wine Spectator Insider offers their tasting notes on 35 wines, including the 2006 Il Palazzone Brunello di Montalcino. Read on for what they have to… Read the rest 
My NY colleague, Mandy Presser, put her time in Italy to good use and was kind enough to share the details of her classes at the Tuscan Wine School in Siena.
Read on…..
Freshly arrived in Montalcino and eager to… Read the rest 
Tuscany is emerald green. The hedgerows are hazy with biancospino and the hillsides have splashes of colour with apple, almond and cherry trees all in bloom. Primroses and wild violets nestle together on the banks and soon there will be purple irises along every… Read the rest 
As promised some more suggestions for child-friendly Tuscan excursions, within reach of Montalcino…
Il Bosco della Ragnaia, Strada Provinciale del Pecorile, 53020 San Giovanni d’Asso (SI) www.laragnaia.com
This is a landscaped Arcadian garden created by the American artist Sheppard Craige… Read the rest 
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