Az. Agr. Il Paradiso di Frassina srl – Loc. Frassina, 41 – 53024 Montalcino (SI)

www.alparadisodifrassina.it alparadiso@tiscali.it

A story of emotions

1 – My background

My name is Carlo Cignozzi, Milanese by birth, a lawyer by profession, but also someone whose involvement in Tuscany's Montalcino region from the 1970s helped successful wineries like Altesino, Case Basse to develop and who from scratch created Tenuta Caparzo, one of Brunello di Montalcino's most acclaimed producers ever. As wine producer, counsellor and even legal advisor in the Consorzio (or governing body) of Brunello, I made a significant contribution to this wine zone's now world wide renown. At the end of the 1990s I wanted to develop a new and I suppose slightly crazy wine project on my own, so I sold my shareholding in Tenuta Caparzo and in January 2000 acquired Il Paradiso di Frassina, a small and very traditional farm located in my preferred area to the north of Montalcino.

2 – How il Paradiso di Frassina was born Only a small, obviously rustic but suggestively

medieval entity like il Paradiso di Frassina, ensconced in a breathlessly arresting landscape, could have re-awakened my hidden hopes and creative aspirations.

It took nearly two years to restore the farm, its cellar and fermenting tanks, and to establish from scratch a Sangiovese vineyard, totalling just under 4 hectares (10 acres). At the same time I acquired another piece of land around 12 miles (20 km) away in the Maremma, comprising around 11 hectares (27 acres). Half this splendid site was planted with exactly 12 different grape varieties ('uve' in Italian) for the 'DO 12 Uve' wine.

This meant that as the third millennium dawned, il Paradiso di Frassina had 4 hectares of Sangiovese grapes, 3 hectares of which were dedicated to Brunello di Montalcino DOCG wines, and one hectare to Rosso di Montalcino DOC, all sited around il Paradiso's venerable farmhouse, plus the 'cru' wine from the site at Santa Rita, a veritable vinous rainbow comprising 6 hectares of the finest Bordeaux and Tuscan grapes.

3 – Making the diference

In contrast to my peers in Montalcino, I wanted il Paradiso's range of wines to have such individual personalities as to be right at the extreme of what was considered usual: thus the DO 12 uve, an IGT Maremma, and Gea, a Sant'Antimo Rosso DOC both allowed Brunello to retain its position of splendid isolation, meaning tiny volumes but unquestionable quality.

Through the sheer force of their personality my vinous creations, Gea and DO 12 Uve, had no problem conquering new markets, despite competition from Brunello. And my new 'Mozart Selection' wine, which will be sold 'en primeur', will add even more lustre to the range (see section 7, below).

4 - Let the music roll …!

But the real dream I wanted to live at il Paradiso was arguably beyond the realm of rational thought. Playing music to the vines to improve their growth and thus wine quality was my secret wish, one born many years before and finally realised in il Paradiso di Frassina's vinous amphitheatre, a place of both intimacy and magic.

I knew, I was sure in fact that just like medicine, sound was capable of having a curative effect; that music could turn suffering to joy and that plants and especially vines, being among the most complex plants, could manifest this with stronger, more vital growth.

Fortuitously, the University of Florence began investigating the effect of musical sound waves on plants (plants in general, rather than just vines) at around the same time, and it was not long before Professor Mancuso from the university began helping me trace this fantastic musical path of discovery.

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5 – A strange discovery/piece of research It's one thing to see a plant bud growing in a

laboratory when being subjected to sound waves, but quite another to walk amongst vines surrounded by the music emitted from speakers right in the middle of the vineyard. And it's precisely the chance to feel this sensation that continues to attract thousands of passionate, curious people from all over the world, and which has made Paradiso such a talking point in the media.

In the meantime the University of Florence's research programme is continues to conduct a comprehensive series of comparative observations in both laboratory and in the vineyard. Ultimately these will form the basis of a scientific research paper.

Initial results suggest that music a) augments both leaf and fruit growth b) promotes earlier ripening c) protects against pests

This research has the potential for limitless practical possibilities!

6 – A media fanfare

From autumn 2005, when the first in-depth, serious article on this research appeared in the 'Stampa di Torino', written by Andrea di Robillant, I have been swamped with requests from magazines, newspapers, radio and televisions from all four corners of the globe...no other wine estate has had such profound and persistent media attention.

And fellow winemakers from across the world

have contacted me, wanting advice on how they too can use music to improve their vines, and their wines. I must have been on the right track after all; believing that music was not just a way to open new and unexpected 'biodynamic' horizons for plants, but was also a carrier of emotions forceful enough to stimulate our very essence as human beings.

7– Bose arrives, and the Mozart Vineyard comes to life

This project's many fans and the intense media coverage meant it was not long before Amar Bose, a 'guru of sound', and founder of the homonymous named America corporation, came to leave his unmistakable imprint at Paradiso. Thanks to this Indian-born music maestro I managed to create the 'Mozart Vineyard', using the fifty 'Bose' loud speakers he himself provided for 1.5 hectares of musical Brunello. Its wine will be sold 'en primeur' as "Mozart Selection".

It's no exaggeration to say that Paradiso di Frassina is now considered the world centre of musical vineyard research. In 2008 Paradiso was even certified organic by the BIOS organization. Ultimately, once the research results are published in a scientific journal the findings can be patented for use by other winegrowers wanting to improve the health and quality of their vines.

8 – A model estate

Il Paradiso di Frassina is a small- to medium-

sized estate, with 11 hectares of vines, producing 40,000-50,000 bottles annually from its own vines: no grapes are bought in, so everything bearing the Paradiso name is grown, bottled and labelled by Paradiso using Paradiso's own grapes and own facilities.

But Paradiso is going further ahead still. Recently a storage cellar for bottled wine which is semi-underground has been created. This is cooled from above and on two sides by a swimming pool using local stone from Rapolano.

Water from this trickles down on either side

like a water fall, creating exactly the showering effect I wanted to keep my wine cool...

9 – Auspicious growth

Paradiso di Frassina and I will celebrate 10 years together in 2010, and by then I will celebrate having been able to attain all my objectives - the 'biodynamic' music research, increased sales to ever more export markets, and above continuing to welcome unlimited numbers of people visiting the estate itself and the Mozart Vineyard.

It's this pilgrimage, of up to 5,000 people every year, that is at the heart of Paradiso's business and which will permit us in the future to develop extra visitor facilities, allowing more frequent direct purchase of our fantastic products.

I have created a model but very particular viticultural business, a sort of journey which combines music and research, nature and fantasy, and above all something which celebrates the wonderful dynamic that exists between man, his vines and the world of wine. Carlo Cignozzi

foto di Diana Grandi