About

The Farm

 

Atavica is a 17-hectare organic farm located in the Tuscan Maremma. We produce low-intervention organic-certified natural wines and organic olive oil. We have 5.5 hectares of grape vines (Sangiovese, Vermentino, Pugnitello, Foglia Tonda) and 5.5 hectares of olive trees (Frantoio, Leccino, Moraiolo). 

The Project 

 

We’re four friends who met in Dublin and moved to Italy around 2020. Yes, that 2020. Like many urban-dwellers at the time, we were ready for a change, so we swapped out city life for countryside living. 

After a few years in northern Tuscany helping our friend Gino make good ol’ fashioned farmer’s wine (that happened to be natural), we realized we all shared the dream: to make natural wine and have a hand in what we drink.

 

 

The Why

 

More and more, our industrialized system of sustaining ourselves is becoming less kind to the planet, and it's not that kind to our bodies, either. To produce more, nature has to be manipulated. To create consistency, products have to be manipulated. 

This is especially true when it comes to wine. It's pretty shocking how many additives are legally allowed to go into a bottle of conventional wine without you knowing about it. When we went to officially register our wines, we were handed 5-pages to list our ingredients. If there are 5-pages, then someone needed 5-pages. We just needed one word..."grapes". 

We'll save the gritty details for a future blog post, but let's just say that when you wake up feeling crappy after a few glasses of wine, there could actually be this many culprits if you're in the EU, and this many culprits if you're in the US. 

Not only do we generally prefer the unique characteristics found in natural wines, but we're also advocates for the nature-led process and the culture of transparency the natural wine niche stands for. 

Bottles aren't carbon copies of one another. Seasons can't be replicated. Every bottle is its own experience; a reflection of the weather that year, the specific soil conditions of the land, and the many human hands that helped turn that fruit into a beautiful fermented beverage. 

The How

 

In summer of 2023, during a long and wine-soaked dinner together in Spain, we decided to pool our funds and start the search for land. In early 2024, we became the proud owners of this magical place. 

It's a lot of hard work. But we're learning a ton! And, we've encountered the best people along the way who have become an integral part of the day-to-day operations. 

 

 

 

We balance hard work with good wine, frequent company, and very abundant feasts.