from Sicily
to Tuscany

Salvatore Vallone, for his friends “Toto”, was a farmer on a farm in the Palermo countryside. Driven by the will of his wife Vincenza, after the birth of his first sons (including Pasquale), he decided to move to Tuscany. Why Tuscany? The credit goes to his brother-in-law, who was hidden and protected by a Sienese woman after he escaped from a prison camp during the war. He fell madly in love with the territory and convinced the whole family to move there. The family was very close and they bought an estate near Radi “Pociano”. They began to raise cattle, made cheese and produce oil and table wine.

Toto played an active role in local politics, committing himself to the development of the village. Unfortunately, he passed away after a short time but was still able to pass on his belief in the importance of the family and convey his passion for the land and his bond with it to his family, along with his knowledge of agriculture and viticulture.

Pasquale Vallone has continued to increase the knowledge his father had given him about agriculture at the family farmhouse while also embarking on an important career in a bank. And thanks to a branch transfer, at the beginning of the 90s, he came into contact with the economic and social life of Montalcino for five years. These were the years of the highest “expression” of Brunello di Montalcino. He created strong bonds of friendship that he still continues to cultivate today, even from a distance. In 1996 during a day of hunting, one of his wine-maker friends showed him some land for sale south-east of Montalcino, 15 ha of uncultivated land and woods a real opportunity that Pasquale did not miss.

In 1997 the whole family, Pasquale, his wife Piera and Francesca and Federico, the children, planted the first cuttings, an excellent pastime for the weekends. The hectares of vines become 10 in a short time, Pasquale soon spent his whole vacation in this pristine corner of Montalcino. Pasquale found in his brother Gaetano a great help and an excellent cellarman, producing the first Brunello di Montalcino Terre Nere in 2002. Nothing happens by chance: the first night of Piera and Pasquale’s honeymoon had been in Montalcino. Piera was so fascinated by the rooftops that could be seen from their hotel room that she was convinced that sooner or later she would return there.