Querciabella was established in 1974 and is today owned by Sebastiano Cossia Castiglioni, an entrepreneur with a background in business, industrial design, real estate and sustainable agriculture. The estate was an early adopter of biodynamic winemaking and has been chemical-free since 1988. Its 183 vineyard acres are in Greve, Panzano, Radda and Gaiole, prime Chianti Classico territory. Querciabella, which means “beautiful oak tree,” also owns 79 vineyard acres in Maremma on the Tuscan coast. The estate produces five wines from the Chianti Classico zone, including white and red blends. The estate’s DOCG wine is the flagship Querciabella 100% Sangiovese. The estate also produces red blends in the Maremma and a Cabernet Franc/Syrah/Merlot blend called Turpino from Maremma and Chianti fruit. Castiglioni’s approach to non-traditional blends makes him part of a modern Italian winemaking trend that eschews sticking strictly to traditional appellation regulations regarding blending and the use of non-traditional grapes. Vinous has complimented Castiglioni “for being the first Chianti Classico producer to make a concerted effort to showcase the personalities of specific sites: the quest to explore and understand the uniqueness of various sites, and to bottle wines from those vineyards so that we might understand their intrinsic qualities.”