Peter Heilbron, a Milanese-born executive from the food and beverage industry, fell in love with the unique terroir of Montefalco, near Perugia — home to the powerful and structured Sagrantino di Montefalco — and purchased a large, old vine vineyard on the slopes leading up to the Umbrian Appenine ranges. His property is planted to the indigenous Sagrantino and Trebbiano Spoletino grapes. The tough, stony soil is mixed with the area’s typical marl and arenaceous formations. Tenuta Bellafonte’s aim is to blend into the landscape, impacting the environment as little as possible. No chemical herbicides or pesticides are used in the vineyard and the underground cellar uses solar panels and a biomass boiler, greatly reducing environmental damage and waste; even the remains of pruning are used to produce energy. Winemaking is done with minimal intervention, utilizing indigenous yeasts for spontaneous fermentation, the wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered.