Francesco Leanza
Owner
Francesco Leanza was born in Catania, Sicily, a beautiful town that lies at the foothills of Mount Etna. He graduated from the University of Catania in 1970 with a degree in Industrial Chemistry. After a brief stint as a teacher at a local high school, he moved to Rome, where he took a position in the production and sales department of a well known Italian food and beverage company. The following year, he passed the civil service exam and took a job as a Chemical Analyst at the Scientific Laboratory of Rome’s Chamber of Commerce. Within a few years, he was promoted to Chief Executive Analyst for the Food and Beverage department of the Chamber’s Laboratory.
In the late 1980’s, Francesco began exploring Tuscany and its small towns, and soon fell in love with Montalcino’s beautiful countryside and estates. In 1990, he purchased Salicutti, a 27-acre estate of neglected olive trees with a small abandoned farmhouse that had fallen into disrepair.
In 1992, Francesco began rescuing the olive trees and, a year later, planted 5 acres of vineyard. A few years later, he started to renovate the estate’s buildings, transforming them into a marvelous, evocative Tuscan farm house and modern winery, equipped with advanced winemaking technology and top-quality French and Slavonian barrels. In 1996, the winery’s first harvest took place. The results were outstanding! Salicutti’s first Brunello was praised by Wine Spectator as “…gorgeous, opulent… A triumph for the vintage” and received 92 points.
Encouraged by his initial success, Francesco made an important transition that year. He left his job at the Chamber of Commerce’s Laboratory to become a full time vintner and winemaker. Between 1999 and 2001, he further expanded his vineyards, planting another 5 acres, bringing Salicutti to its current 10 acres of planted vineyards. When not overseeing his estate’s winemaking and olive oil production, Francesco travels throughout Italy and the world to promote his wines. Today, through Francesco’s devotion and hard work, Salicutti is widely considered one of the finest artisanal Brunello producers.
The vineyards and olive groves of Salicutti are set in a large natural amphitheater with a spectacular view of the cultivated fields of Tuscany's Orcia Valley and the nearby woods of Mount Amiata. In the middle of this charming natural setting lies the Salicutti estate, which prides itself on the production of high quality wines using traditional agricultural methods that respect the environment. Owner Francesco Leanza is a firm believer in the “total quality” processes, convinced that natural farming-- respectful of the biological cycles of the plants-- leads to wines that not only taste better, but also benefit the environment and the consumer. His environmentally-sound approach to viticulture shuns chemical intervention in favor of a return to the basics: identifying the optimal terroir, sun exposure and vineyard altitude to produce exceptional wines. Leanza fertilizes his vines and treats vineyard pests using only non-invasive measures, such as under-plowing and natural fertilizers.
