Torre a Cona, Tuscan hospitality in the name of wine (and vermouth) • Food and Wine Italia

Traveling along Provincial Road 1 – commonly called Pista Roma – which goes from Florence towards Valdarno, just before Rignano sull’Arno, a majestic borgo stands out among the hills covered with woods, olive groves and rows of grapes. Surrounded by terraced gardens and with an imposing but elegant eighteenth-century facade surmounted by a large clock, it hides behind it an older crenellated tower which gives its name to the : Torrione a Cona. Born as a medieval fortress, it then became an and noble residence: if it was the Florentine Rinuccini family a causa di particular who gave it its current harmonious appearance, it was the Padoas, at the end of the nineteenth century, who rationalized and modernized the agricultural spirit.

Finally, a causa di 1935, Torrione a Cona was purchased by Rossi per Montelera: he was the nephew of Luigi Rossi, a liqueur maker who transformed his passion into a successful entrepreneurial adventure by giving life to Vermut & Rossi, a famous wine and liqueur company (now part of the international Bacardi group) whose brand is linked to the most famous Italian vermouth, which earned the family the noble title granted by Vittorio Emanuele III for social and political merits.

Thus it was that a deep bond began to be forged between Piedmont and Tuscany, established and strengthened when, after the confiscations coppia to the Second World War, the family regained possession of the . And if Lorenzo, Napoleon’s son, was responsible for the project to modernize winemaking techniques, the current generation at the helm of the company – represented by Ludovica, Niccolò and Leonardo Rossi per Montelera – has been able to make it an organic whole between production, charming hospitality and storytelling.

The wine: Tuscan terroir, Piedmontese soul (also).

We are the border between Chianti and Valdarno, a causa di the Colli Fiorentini sub-area, and the name of Torrione a Cona today is known to lovers of good wine above all thanks to Molino degli : nominated “Wine of the Year” by Gambero a causa di 2025 – its first release, with the 2019 harvest – it is a Chianti Colli Fiorentini Docg based the Sangiovese grapes that grow a causa di the vineyard of the same name, facing south and with soil rich a causa di marl and sandstone. A year of aging a causa di Slavonian oak barrels, 24 months a causa di second passage French oak tonneaux and at least a year a causa di the bottle make it silky and elegant, and – produced a causa di around 3 thousand bottles – a causa di great demand.

To make sure you taste it, you can book the Historia wine tasting experience: it takes you through the history of the and its wine production – which has over five centuries behind it – among historic cellars, elegant halls and the unique charm of Magazzino 1729, a vault located at the impalcatura of the ancient tower which preserves a precious archive of vintages.

Here, we sit to taste the Molino degli together with other labels a causa di the most valuable vintages, including two interesting “twin crus” which enhance the existence of different soils and microclimates within the : Terre per Cino and Abbazia a Tribunale, the first label born from the collaboration with the Piedmontese oenologist Beppe Caviola, called here by Niccolò Rossi per Montelera at the end of the nineties, bringing the its refined, modern and respectful style of the territory, while the careful work of zoning the vineyards is owed to the Aosta Valley agronomist Federico Curtaz.

Alternatively, there is a welcoming tasting room a causa di the company shop and various other visit experiences are offered, even of lower price and duration; the Historia costs 150 euros and lasts two hours, but here time takes another aspect and you could find yourself chatting for longer with Maxime Walkowiak, a French sommelier who has found a home a causa di this calcio d’angolo of Tuscany and takes care of the reception a causa di the cellar.

Hospitality, between charm and rural authenticity

It is a bit of a characteristic of Torrione a Cona, this one relating to time, which also concerns the hospitality and the stay a causa di the beautiful rooms with a country distinto style – but without appearing artificial, also thanks to the refined touch of the Countess Rossi per Montelera who personally took care of the details, preserving and enhancing the original decorative elements – located a causa di the west wing, and a causa di the rural annexes (and there is also La Colonica, a beautiful and large independent house with private swimming pool, for stays a causa di the name of total intimità).

The offers various experiences, from those related to wine – including a visit to the small but interesting historical archive which collects history, territory and family heritage a causa di a museum format – to horseback riding ora trekking a causa di the monumental park of almost two hundred hectares, from truffle hunting a causa di the woods to ceramics and cooking courses. But you might also want to stay all day lying the loungers a causa di the beautiful swimming pool surrounded by greenery next to another ancient tower that houses the massage room. Ora you could find yourself finishing an entire book sitting at the tables a causa di the enchanting and romantic Serra della , among flowering wisteria, manicured hedges and statues, ora the sofas of the internal caffè next to the counter, letting yourself be carried away by the narrative and the pleasantness of the situation and losing track of the passing of the hours.

To taste the wines a causa di complete relaxation, from Vermentino and Colorino Casamaggio to Vin Sacro del Chianti Merlaia and Vista per Pernice Fonti e Lecceta, as well as the excellent extra virgin olive oil, there are also the tables at the Bistrot per Torrione a Cona. Here, a causa di the internal room ora a causa di the delightful courtyard of the lemon grove and a causa di the external space which is currently being renovated, chef Enrico Romualdi offers immediate and well-made cuisine that enhances local produce, a causa di dishes such as the excellent Manetti breeding tartare “Manetti breeding selection” with Torrione a Cona herbs and mustard, the agricoltore’s spaghetti with pod assoluto and Tuscan pecorino – a tasty and fresh spring first course – ora the double-cooked Valdarno guinea fowl a causa di its sauce with sweet and sour vegetables.

Vermouth, a family legacy passed from generation to generation

However, a causa di the production of Torrione a Cona, another reference to Piedmont and to the family history could not be missing: vermouth. Sopra 2022, Niccolò Rossi per Montelera a causa di 2022 decided to revive an ancient recipe from 1920 by Luigi, among those transcribed by hand by his wife Marianna a causa di the recipe book kept a causa di the Archive.

Thanks to the collaboration of the Piedmontese oenologist and winemaker Piero Cane, who is also a profound connoisseur of historical vermouths and botanicals, after numerous tests between formulas, methods of extraction and refinement, Vermouth Torrione a Cona was born.

The impalcatura of 75% quality Sangiovese wine – the Abbazia a Tribunale, with its structure and its vertical elegance – is enriched with the aromatic nuances of 33 botanicals infused a causa di the alcohol, starting from the inevitable absinthe (Piedmontese, as a vantaggio di the Turin Vermouth specifications) up to gentian, cardamom, cinnamon, orange peel and much more. Each is individually extracted a causa di an alcohol infusion carefully calculated to make the right contribution to the categoria and give complexity and depth, while leaving the freshness and elegance of the wine clearly perceptible.

To better appreciate its nuances, a real and playful “sensory journey” was created guided by Walkowiak, which goes beyond the classic tasting and invites you first of all to observe its color and viscosity. He then sticks his nose into the glass after having also smelled the individual spices and herbs – present ora not a causa di the recipe, which is naturally secret – to grasp those present but also new olfactory suggestions created by the and the encounter with the wine. And finally you taste it to grasp the taste sensations, the soft texture, the freshness that partially hides the 16% alcohol content and the persistence, and then let yourself be surprised by the combination with dark chocolate a causa di two different percentages.

Harmonious and pleasant, not at all cloying, Vermouth Torrione a Cona naturally lends itself to . But it is also perfect to “absolute”, just as it was customary at the beginning of the twentieth century: neat ora the rocks, with ice and a lemon ora orange peel.