When it comes to telling a success story about winemaking it usually starts with someone’s grandfather or great-grandfather who came from the old country to find America.

Well, this one is just the opposite. Some decades ago The Graces, a San Francisco family, decided with German banker Gerhard Hirmer and the well known Italian oenologist, Franco Bernabei, to establish themselves in Tuscany.

This is how Il Molino di Grace, in Villa Castagnoli, an old, ivy-covered property in Panzano, in the heart of Chianti in Tuscany came to be. The estate had a windmill – the molino of the name – and a few acres of vineyards, which Frank Grace was quickly able to expand when the 66-acre estate next door came up for sale. But this is just the beginning of the story.

Frank Grace and his partners made great efforts not to be perceived as the "American family" in Tuscany and managed to produce wines that reflect the traditional Chianti style. This 10 year old winery has not only been accepted by the locals but has received accolades and several bicchieri from Gambero Rosso. http://www.ilmolinodigrace.com

The sustainably farmed vineyards uphold the winery’s philosophy that the best Chianti’s are made in the vineyard. The grapes are all hand picked and go through a rigorous sorting selection (by hand) before they enter the winery. The new state-of-the-art winery has the latest vinification equipment which allows for Bernabei and his team to continue to care for the grapes by employing “minimal intervention” methods.
Yields are kept low, being around 50 hectolitres per hectare, well under the regional requirements.
The wines.

Il Molino di Grace had earned a string of awards. In 2004 it became the "2004 Gambero Rosso Emerging Vineyard of the Year" with several bicchieri or Gambero Rosso stars. Wine & Spirits rated, Il Molino’s Chianti Classico Riserva Il Margone ’00 the number one Chianti in the guide. The Classico is a text book Chianti with hints of cocoa with a dusty earth nose followed up on the palate with cherried fruits and spice which provide a very silky tannin and a long finish.

Super Tuscan, Gratius - $55
Chianti Classico Riserva, Il Margone - $45
Chianti Classico, Riserva - $30
Chianti Classic - $19.99
Red Tuscan Blend, Il Volano - $12.99