38 Act I / Poggio al Tesoro in the Spotlight 39 Act I / Poggio al Tesoro in the Spotlight of his pocket: le sondraie. It is a property in the northernmost part of the production zone of the Bolgheri appellation. It isn’t particularly large, but it is surrounded by a host of smallholdings planted to vegetables. It will be necessary to meet their cultivators one by one, and make each of them an offer because, together, their holdings would amount to some fifty hectares, 125 acres, all in one block. And a bit beyond Le Sondraie, in the township of Bibbona, another ten hectares of vineyards could be purchased for alternative projects, for production and experimentation not bound by the rules of the Bolgheri appellation. In Walter’s head a truly major project has begun to take shape, but a burdensome one as well, but this does not frighten the Allegrini family, their origins as cultivators has taught them that land is a stable good, solid, lasting in time, something in which one can invest with confidence and trust. All that is needed is the head, ideas and a powerful capacity for hard work in order to create ambitious projects and scrupulously carry them out. The wheels and begun to turn and by then cannot be stopped, no difficulty, no mishap, no obstacle can put it into question. All the rest would follow: bureaucratic formalities, notarial acts similar to neighborhood assemblies, analyses of the soil, a project for a cellar, much studied and worked over, vineyards to be planted, wines to be defined, genetic material – the vines themselves – selected, the personnel hired, an outside partner found, a sales network developed, and so on and so forth down to the final details. And in the end Franco will become fully involved, and with him Leonardo Lo Cascio, the historic importer of the Allegrini wines in the United States. Fully aware of being surrounded by illustrious names and eager to emulate them, to confront legends and challenge them to a duel with a minimal sense of inferiority, but rather armed with pride in their frank and shameless vitality. Only one thing does not work out. A banal and hateful detail does not function and does not allow us to fully rejoice in the creation of Poggio al Tesoro. Earthly life abandoned Walter Allegrini and he was never able to see his greatest dream realized. this book is dedicated to walter, because the earth of poggio al tesoro is permeated with walter. On the left: Walter Allegrini Next pages: The vineyard and farmhouse of Poggio del Tesoro on Via Bolgherese
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