Exclusive interview with Leonardo Bellaccini, wine maker of San Felice

Hello Leonardo! To start the interview and get to know you: how did you become an oenologist/wine producer? Was your family already in the wine business?

Siena, the city where I was born, is a city known mainly for its banks. There is the oldest bank in the world, and all the boys of my age studied to work in the bank. It was a very well paid job. I couldn't see myself working in an office, so I decided to study agriculture. It wasn't a family tradition, it was a personal choice that I made at 15. During my studies, a viticulture/oenology course was opened. I didn't know anything about wine, but I wanted to try it and I was passionate about it. I studied in the same class as the daughter of the former general manager of the San Felice estate. During the summer, as a student, I started going there to get some experience and earn some money for the vacations. When I graduated, San Felice was looking for a winemaker. He wanted to hire his daughter, but she didn't want to work for her father, so she called me. It was at the end of May 1984. I started by doing the chemical controls of the wine in the laboratory, and in 89 I became the oenologist. Since 1999 I am also the production manager.

What is the role of an oenologist?

The role of the oenologist is to make good wine! (Laughs) We can do this with scientific and technical knowledge and experience. You need to have experience in the vineyard, in the cellar. The vinification, the aging, the bottling, are critical moments for the final result. Having such a long experience in the same field, gave me this possibility to know our vineyard very well. Many of the workers are workers who started at the same time as me. We grew up together. I never thought I would stay 40 years in the same winery, but it has been a magical place. Nowadays in Italy we talk a lot about quality, but at the time San Felice was one of the first to have this approach with a scientific method. We worked a lot with the university and we still work with it, to try to be always in the avant-garde and increase the quality of our wine.

What does an oenologist do in the laboratory?

When I started, we only did the basic analyses. For the grapes: the sugar level, the acidity. For the wine: the alcohol level, the acidity, the volatile acidity. Today we can go into even more detail. There are specialized laboratories that are sophisticated. We can analyze the skin of the grape to see its level of maturation, all the precursors of the aromas.

What is the relationship between the vineyard owner and the oenologist?

It depends, it's also a question of people and characters. Personally, I think it has to be a very close relationship, because the philosophy of the property has to be interpreted by the oenologist. It's two things that have to go in the same direction.

How do you interact with the sommeliers?

They are two very different professions. Sommeliers need to have a very broad culture that also includes gastronomy. They have to know the different grape varieties and regions that they then propose on the menu of a restaurant. The oenologist, on the other hand, has a more technical knowledge of viticulture, the physiology of the vine. Finally, both are there to help consumers at different levels.

Do you have the opportunity to bring your personal touch to the wine?

In Italy and in Europe, we try to give the wine the personality of the Terroir. In the rest of the world, we talk about the grape variety and the wine maker. In our country, we talk mainly about the appellation: Chianti classico, Montalcino... The appellation gives a physiology to the wine in general. Afterwards, when you go into more detail at the level of the vineyard, there is still the possibility of giving a more personal expression. I prefer my wine to be recognized as the wine of San Felice rather than the wine of Leonardo Bellaccini.

Are you seeing any impacts of climate change and how is it affecting you?

Everyone has seen it! When I was a student, I used to do the harvest in October, dressed in jeans and boots. Today we do it a month earlier, the weather is nice, we are in shorts and T-shirt! In the 80's, the wine growers were looking for enough sugar in the grapes, we had 2 or 3 big harvests. Today we have the opposite problem, we try not to have too much sugar, not too much alcohol in the wine. We try to keep the acidity which is what keeps the balance of the wine.

In the 90's for example, I made the choice to renovate the vineyard by choosing vines and rootstocks in order to reduce the production per vine, to increase the quality. Today, with the drought, all these choices we made are exacerbated. The production per vine is really low. So we are rethinking the methods of pruning without changing the vineyard. Our vineyards are not watered. We have to think differently. For the new vineyards we are using rootstocks from desert climates that are more efficient in the use of water.

What is the thing that has made you most proud as a wine producer so far?

There are many things! But when you talk to everyone who works at San Felice, no one wants to leave the company. The quality of life that a house like San Felice can guarantee to almost a hundred families in the area, is the thing that makes me most proud.

Can you already tell us what the 2023 vintage will be like?

The only thing we can say is that we have passed the first obstacle. We are out of danger from the spring frost. But we don't know what the next months will bring...drought, hail...the first 3 or 4 months will determine the quantity, and the last months before the harvest will determine the quality. So today it's too early to say!