The cultivation of grapes, in what are today Brunello di Montalcino vineyards, goes back many centuries. The birth of the legendary Brunello di Montalcino wine, the most sought after wine in Italy, can trace its origins to Ferruccio, son of Jacopo Biondi and Caterina Santi (and from here the winery name Biondi-Santi). Upon returning home as a veteran of the Garibaldi military campaign, Biondi-Santi found his family’s vineyards had been attacked by powdery and downy mildew. He decided to dedicate his attentions to the care of a single type of vine: Sangiovese Grosso. He did various experiments and then was able to stabilize his wine by leaving it to rest for 10 years in large oak barrels. In 1888 he presented his wine on the market and it achieved incredible success. The real boom of Brunello however arrived 75 years later when many producers decide to invest in this wine because of notable international success including on the English and American markets. Today the annual production of Brunello di Montalcino has reached 50,000 hectoliters, the equivalent of roughly 6,700,000 bottles.