About San Polino

In a small 'nirvana' northwest of Montalcino, Luigi Fabbro and Katia Nussbaum founded San Polino nearly 30 years ago. They farm 8 hectares of Sangiovese vineyards across 3 different plots at varying altitudes. Utilizing Luigi's experience mapping the Amazon rainforest, they aimed to create wines reflecting the biodiversity of their terroir. This 4-hectare bio-dynamically farmed estate now produces luscious, balanced wines. San Polino's history dates back to 1581, when it was registered as a Montalcino hospital property, Santa Maria della Croce. This medieval hospital provided for pilgrims and assisted the poor. Luigi and Katia, who met in Nepal in 1979, bought San Polino in 1991.

The land was virgin, with only 1.5 hectares of olive trees. They began by making olive oil. Katia, a London-born anthropologist, moved to Montalcino in 1985, while Luigi, from Friuli, has diverse interests, including computer software, ancient Burmese harp tuning, and Amazon biodiversity mapping. Together, they cultivate San Polino's rich history and terroir, creating exceptional wines. There is a small ‘nirvana’ northwest of Montalcino, where Luigi Fabbro and Katia Nuassbaum founded San Polino nearly thirty years ago. Using Luigi’s scientific experience of mapping the Amazon rainforest they decided to try their hands at “creating wines as complete reflections of the biodiversity of their terroir.” Praised by critics and peers they have been described as having “an incredible clarity and pureness of fruit that is unequalled in the region.”

San Polino follow organic and biodynamic farming methods with an ethos of permaculture for managing the vineyard. Hand grown with specialized pruning to allows the growth of just the right amount of juicy yet thick skinned grapes on each vine, hand harvested in fields lying to the south-east and north-east of Montalcino at 450 m and 350m altitude respectively, in fields where no chemicals have ever been used.