Vignavecchia and Sandokan

Odoardo Beccari’s severe face has for decades stared out from the labels of Chianti Classico from Vignavecchia, an historic Chianti Classico estate that this year marks its 140th anniversary. It was founded by Beccari in 1876 when he transformed the farm of his mother’s family, the Minucci, which had existed since the end of the 18th century, into an efficient and, for the time, modern winery. Beccari himself, however, was an amazing figure and one of the leading botanists of his time.

At only 22 years of age, he and the Marquis Giacomo Doria of Genoa left for London to study at the famous Kew Gardens. There he became friends with Charles Darwin and James Brook, who became the inspiration for the fictional white rajah of Sarawak and sworn enemy of the pirate Sandokan in the adventure books of Emilio Salgari. This because it was Brook who invited Beccari to Malesia and Borneo and the latter’s reportages were used by Salgari, who never left Italy, to create the settings for his popular tales.

Vignavechcia wines today are produced in the heart of Radda in Chianti by Orsola Beccari, Odoardo’s great-granddaughter, together with Antonio Francesco Piccinno, an agronomist who manages the winery. The following is one of the magnificent wines they produce.

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