If Val d’Orcia weren’t sandwiched between Montalcino to the west and Montepulciano to the east, the on-point wines made in the DOC appellation with a singular sense of place would be world-famous in their own right. Fortunately, for Tuscan oenophiles, they remain affordable, quality bottlings and the picture-perfect UNESCO World Heritage Site remains ripe for visiting.
Fattoria del Colle


Several of the producers in the Val d’Orcia area have shaped their reputation and revenue around Brunello. Donatella Cinelli Colombini of Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino and Fattoria del Colle in Val d’Orcia is one such example, although the matriarch is so much more than a winemaker. She founded the Italian Wine Movement in 1993 and the uber-popular Cantine Aperte initiative, enticing the public to see how wineries work. Over the years, she was a city councillor in Siena, president of the Orcia wine consortium and president of the Italian association for women in the wine world. Charismatic bottlings such as the iconic Cenerentola, a Sangiovese and Foglia Tonda blend, come from her bucolic 16th-century estate near Trequanda, which also provides farmhouse accommodation, a restaurant based on local produce and wine tasting experiences.
Pometti

A 10-minute drive due west brings us to Pometti. Comprising of the beautifully maintained Villa Boscarello and La Selva complete with refined rooms, Carlotta and her family care about beauty, goodness and the land. Eleven hectares of vineyards planted at an altitude of 350 metres yield Sangiovese-driven wines, such as 106, all plum and violets, as well as the cantina’s organic and vegan versions. Not only a winemaker, Pometti is a farm that produces olive and lavender oil, while providing educational agricultural experiences, truffle hunting (the area is renowned for white truffles in the autumn) and tuber-based meals, alongside the usual wine tastings.
Fabbrica Pienza

In stark contrast stands design-driven Fabbrica Pienza to the northeast of the hilltop town. Owned by the Swiss Bertherat family, the elongated, low-lying, brick winery was established in 2013 according to sustainable principles. The wines are styled by Manchester-born, Liverpool-raised Tim Manning, whose previous experiences in New Zealand and the States bring “new world” precision to the proceedings. Tinia is a selection of Sangiovese that encapsulates the Orcia DOC appellation, while novelties include a pét nat and a white Vermentino, Roussanne and Viognier blend. Tastings are picturesque experiences on the patio in front of the vineyard, while the cellar door features striking works of art from the family’s renowned collection. Ugo Rondinone’s impressive column of colourful rocks entices locals and internationals to this winery set along a quintessential gravel road in the Tuscan countryside. Don’t miss the nearby boutique hotel Casa Newton recently opened by the same proprietors.