We discovered La Petraia in the fall of 2000, an ancient property set proudly on top of the Chianti Mountains in the heart of Tuscany, halfway between Florence and Siena. Its 65 hectares had been abandoned as a working farm more than fifty years earlier, but the potential of the property was immediately apparent.

It offered us the promise of grapes, olives, grain, vegetables and the restoration of a large chestnut forest. Wild game roamed freely, including mouflon, boar, deer, hare, pheasant and fox. Petraia’s distinction of being one of the highest farms in the Chianti Classico zone allowed us to see Siena’s campanile and duomo on the southern horizon. The thirty-five kilometers of undulating hills in between we found dotted with just a few ancient towers, a view that had remained unchanged for several centuries.

Bordering on a hunting reserve and a park, the property had over 55 hectares of characteristic Chianti oak forests, a majestic wilderness full of shy animals, mushrooms and edible plants.

More than ten hectares lay in rolling pasture, land left fallow for half a century and prime for organic farming. La Petraia’s soil was rich and full of hope. Having sat out the green revolution, her fields avoided the years of pesticides and chemical treatments that might have otherwise been their fate. Due to the altitude, we would be forever protected from the effects of less stringent agricultural techniques practiced by any neighbors.

The highest point, called the Piazza di Siena, stood shrouded in gentle forests concealing the scarce remains of an Etruscan village dating back some 2,700 years and affording a strategic view of the vast valley of the Arno River on one side and the ancient Tuscan countryside on the other.

Petraia was shameless and brazen in her seduction. With just a few visits we were determined we would begin the long journey to once again breathe life into her.