Our products are all organically grown. We make:
Jams, preserves, vegetables pickled in vinegar or packed in oil, wild pickled asparagus and mushrooms
Goat's cheese: fresh, aged, seasoned, smoked, ricotta (forthcoming).
THE OLIVES OF SPEDALONE
The ancient olive grove extends over 5 hectares nestled among the gently sloping hills of the “crete senesi”. The trees are some of the oldest in Tuscany: dating back to the 15th Century, the grove was planted by the monks of Monte Oliveto, who used the existing structure of Spedalone as an annex of Sant’Anna.
The upper grove suffered from the terrible winters of 1985 and 1986. Some of the trees were so damaged they had to be cut down to their base; new limbs have since sprouted from their trunks and grown into trees. The lower grove escaped unharmed. Undoubtedly, the exceptional microclimate of Spedalone helped the grove survive. If it had not been for the efforts of our neighbors, Marcello and Natalina to preserve the ancient grove, it would undoubtedly have had to be cut down by now.
During the spring of 2004 we undertook a major pruning operation; from a forest gone wild, the huge olive trees of Spedalone reemerged. Our friends from Laterza, Lorenzo and Nicola, master pruners, restored life to this ancient olive grove, and continue to care for the olive trees with affection.
Despite being left to grow wild for more than 20 years, the olive trees are in perfect health. To the 500 existing trees, we have added 200 more organically grown saplings.
The olive grove contains many varieties of olives: “coreggiolo” (or “frantoio”), “moraiolo”, “leccino”, “rotondella”, “leccino romano”, “pendolino”, “rosciola”, “punteruelo” and “cipressino”.
The olives are harvested manually in late autumn, and are pressed the same day they are harvested. We are building an agricultural center (a work in progress) which will house the olive press and oil storage facility in the cellar to avoid exposure to high temperature.
The oil produced from the grove is rich, flavorful, bright green, fruity with a delicate bitter vein. Its spicy hint of artichokes gives each dish the unmistakable aroma of Tuscan oil.
FARM AND OTHER ANIMALS
We raise several Tuscan “cinta senese” pigs, roosters and chickens and soon will add “Camosciata” milk goats, rabbits and ducks to the farm. Podere Spedalone is home to a wide variety of wild animals, including boars, deer, hares, pheasants, porcupines, foxes and badgers. They are easy to spot in the woods or as they cross the fields at dusk.
MEDICINAL PLANTS
Medicinal plants and edible plants grow in the woods and the meadows of Spedalone. They range from calendula to “nepitella,” “marzuolo” and “scorzone” truffles, and mushrooms, including especially porcini, chanterelles and “mazze di tamburo”. | 
