Morisfarms

The Moris family left Spain two hundred years ago to settle on the edge of the marsh lands of the Tuscan Maremma. At the time this was a virtually unpopulated area, ripe for agriculture but with severe problems with malaria; indeed it was not until the 1950s that the disease was finally eradicated. Until recently the Maremma remained a quiet backwater, beautiful and unspoilt, however the last 20 years has seen a huge increase in tourism in the area. The Moris family built up two agricultural estates (hence the farms in the name) totalling 476 hectares. The larger one, Fattoria Poggetti, is of 420 hectares in the Massa Marittima around 30km south of Bolgheri, whilst the smaller one, Poggio la Mozza, is in Morellino di Scansano. In total 100 hectares is planted to vines, with the rest of the estate growing other agricultural products such as coriander and olives. They were one of the first farms to realise the potential for fine wine here, when Dr Adolfo Parentini married into the family and along with his wife, Caterina Moris, took over running of the estate and over the last 40 years, the focus has shifted inexorably towards viticulture. Parentini produced his first DOC wine, a Morellino di Scansano, in 1981 and the first serious wine from the Poggetti estate was made in 1988 and was christened Avvoltore after a Tuscan bird of prey that is found on the estate.