It may sound like a fairy tale or a marketing stunt, but it is entirely true and scientifically grounded: there is a vineyard in Italy, in Montalcino to be precise, where Mozart's music is played among the rows of vines. It is called Il Paradiso di Frassina, and it produces excellent wine — in part thanks to the notes floating through the air.

Il Paradiso di Frassina: a vineyard amid music

Il Paradiso di Frassina is an estate dating back to the year 1000, at the foot of the hill of Montosoli, five kilometres north of Montalcino, a locality renowned for Italian winemaking excellence.

It occupies a very secluded position, where peace and tranquillity reign, and it enjoys a splendid view over a rolling expanse of hills sown with pastures, woodland, olive groves and vineyards that fade into the horizon. It is easy to imagine that a place like this would produce the nectar of the gods — but it is quite extraordinary to arrive among the vines and hear Mozart's symphonies drifting through shoots, berries and rows.

Mozart is broadcast through an extraordinary number of speakers installed throughout the vineyard, and all of this is the fruit of serious scientific research into the beneficial effects of sound frequencies on the vines, supported by the Universities of Florence and Pisa.

The project

The idea, the flash of inspiration — though perhaps it is better described as a dream — originated with Carlo Cignozzi, the owner of the land, who between 2000 and 2001 planted four hectares of Sangiovese di Brunello at 'Il Paradiso di Frassina', where the vines grew nurtured by sacred and baroque music broadcast through a number of speakers. To give a unique, geometric and discreet quality to the harmonic texture, in 2008 researchers chose the music of Mozart as the sole protective canopy over the Brunello vineyards.

From 2002 onwards, experiments on the effects of sound frequencies on vitis vinifera have been conducted at Il Paradiso di Frassina in collaboration with the team of Prof. Stefano Mancuso of the University of Florence, covering the bio-physiological aspects, and Prof. Andrea Lucchi of the University of Pisa, covering the entomological aspects. These academics lend authority to the project and to the results of the analyses on plants subjected to sound stress, which can be consulted at this link.

Why we like it

To this romantic and fascinating aspect another is added, one that is even closer to our heart: at Il Paradiso di Frassina, biodynamic practices are employed, such as spontaneous grass cover, beneficial green manures, anti-heat herbal preparations, as well as manual pruning and thinning techniques for the vines, in order to steer production towards highly qualitative selections. Every form of chemistry is banned: this demonstrates love and respect for the land.

A project born from a dream that has become visible and audible — a story so beautiful that a book was written about it: "L'uomo che sussurra alle vigne".