Our Organic Winery and Farm
We are a small biodynamic and organic farm in the heart of the Chianti region. With the tremendous passion and dedication of our winemaker, Marco Giordano, we are committed to producing great-tasting, balanced wines in a manner that preserves and replenishes the land and environment. There are no added chemicals to our wines and they experience natural fermentation.
We are situated in an ideal wine-growing location. At an altitude of 1,150 feet, on a hill protected by trees and with a favorable South/Southwest exposure, our vines enjoy not only the historically magnificent soil, but benefit also from this unique position.
Guests staying at Podere Erica are offered a free wine tasting and cellar tour. Our wines are available for purchase and we can arrange shipping to the States.
In addition to our vineyard, we also have a small grove of olive trees producing approximately 350 liters of organic extra virgin olive oil per year. In 2016, we began to grow our farm operations by adding farm animals.
We started simply with a few hens that we rescued from a nearby commercial farm. Our hens now enjoy a humane lifestyle and provide our guest with fresh eggs.
In 2017, we started our most ambitious farm animal raising project - our Mangalitsa pigs from Hungary! We decided to import this breed because their meat (even their fat) is highly regarded in the culinary world and has no cholesterol. Dante (our large hog) and Beatrice (la mamma) are the solid foundation of our operation. They are surprisingly docile and incredibly distinct for their fuzzy coat. The pigs are forest foragers and have a large fenced area of our woodland where they can roam freely. We supplement what they find with a special blend of corn, grain and beans. They also love to get food scraps!
The most recent additions to our family of farm animals are two Amiatino donkeys - a local Tuscan breed of donkey. Gina and Pina are great protectors of our hens and even though they have full reign of many acres of forest, they still love treats of carrots and apples.
