Neither a wine shop nor a traditional art gallery, but a pleasant and informal meeting place for wine and art: Podere Casanova Wine Art Shop opens in the heart of the historic centre of Montepulciano.
A charming place, a wine shop and sales outlet for the estate’s wines and the experiences that can be had at Podere Casanova – whose winery, immersed in the vineyards, is just a ten-minute drive away at the entrance to the Val di Chiana -, a pleasant place to stop for a tasty break based on excellent wines and local products, as well as an art gallery displaying works by contemporary painters and sculptors.
The restaurant has been created from the entrance hall of a Renaissance house in the enchanting historic centre of Montepulciano, in the very central Via di Gracciano del Corso.
During the renovation work, nothing was added, but the original structure of the place was enhanced, long and narrow, which from the street creeps into the heart of the rock on which Montepulciano is built. The ancient bricks and barrel vaults have been brought into view and cleaned. The innermost part is dug into the tufa and was once used to store foodstuffs, as this material has the property of maintaining a constant temperature. At the back, a passageway highlighted by a small arch leads, step by step, into a secret room completely dug out of the tuff, ideal for ageing selections of Podere Casanova’s fine wines.
In renovating the building, the owners Susanna and Isodoro Rebatto – entrepreneurs from the Veneto region involved in the field of clean energy – wanted to bring the atmosphere and style of Podere Casanova back to the centre of Montepulciano, using the materials, colours and graphics that characterise the winery and the Wine Room Tre Berte, overlooking the vineyards. The large counter, the high tables/exhibitors and the structures supporting the paintings and sculptures were made of black iron by local craftsmen.
With background music, at the Podere Casanova Wine Art Shop you can relax and taste the 9 labels in the winery’s range while admiring the paintings on display (for this spring and summer, the works of the Veneto painter Eros Rizzo), you can stop for a tasty break with platters of local cold cuts and cheeses paired with a glass of wine, for an aperitif or Happy Hour, or to enjoy themed tasting sessions of several wines or vertical tastings.
The standard-bearer of the winery is Vino Nobile di Montepulciano (a noble and ancient wine, documented as far back as 789, paid homage to the Popes as early as 1300, the first in Italy to be awarded the Docg label), also available in the pure Nobile Settecento and Nobile Riserva selections, and also in the precious Magnum and Golia sizes. It is flanked by Rosso di Montepulciano, the Super Tuscans Irripetibile and Leggenda, the fragrant white Euforia and the elegant bubbles Bulles Brut and Caterina Rosé. All on display with their artistic labels and elegant gift packs that can be assembled as desired.
