Giampiero Bea made the acquaintance of the Sisters of the Cistercian order (adherents to the ’strict observance’, better known as Trappists), living and working at their monastery in Vitorchiano, ninety minutes north of Rome in Lazio. At this quiet religious outpost eighty women of the order organically work their vineyards and orchards and gardens. Under the guidance of Bea, they produce wines as honest and sympathetic and gracious as they are. The vineyards are planted to a series of four essentially local white grape varieties: Malvasia, Verdicchio, Grechetto and Trebbiano.
