Food, Wine & the Land at Campo Sasso
At Campo Sasso, food and wine are not decorative details added to a Tuscan holiday. They are part of the life of the property and of the wider Jollie ecosystem created by Pierre and Rebecca.
Artisan cheeses mature in the underground cellars. Vines grow among olive and fruit trees. Olives are harvested for Olio del Campo, while Sasso Rosso brings together Pierre’s experience as an agronomist and winemaker with the work of trusted local partners.
Together, these activities express a simple belief: taste begins with the land, but it is revealed through human knowledge, craftsmanship and time.
A Living Place, Not a Recreated Past
Campo Sasso was once part of a traditional Tuscan agricultural landscape in which the farmhouse, cultivated land, fruit trees, vines, olives and rural families formed a single living system.
Pierre and Rebecca do not seek to reconstruct an idealised version of the past. Their aim is to reinterpret its intelligence for the present: diversity instead of monoculture, craftsmanship instead of standardisation, and meaningful relationships between those who grow, transform, mature and share food.
This approach connects Campo Sasso to Jollie’s wider vision of Regenerative Tuscany — preserving knowledge by allowing it to remain useful, alive and capable of evolving.
The Cheese-Ageing Cellars
Beneath Campo Sasso, the underground cellars provide the humidity, temperature and living microflora required for the maturation of artisan cheese.
This is where Pierre practises affinage: the patient work through which a young cheese develops its rind, texture, aromas and final personality. The cheeses are made by selected artisan producers and then entrusted to Campo Sasso for different stages of maturation.
Pierre’s approach draws upon his family roots in the Roquefort region and the French tradition of the affineur, while responding to Tuscan milk, producers and environmental conditions. The purpose is not to impose a standard style, but to help each cheese become the most complete expression of its origin.
The cellars are used to mature cheeses for Formaggioteca Terroir in Florence, including Campo Sasso creations such as Il Sassolino, Sasso Aromatico, Poggio Citerna and Sasso Forte.
From Producer to Affineur
Every cheese begins with the work of a farmer and cheesemaker. Affinage does not replace that work; it continues it.
Salt, humidity, airflow, native microorganisms, regular care and time influence how the rind and paste evolve. The result is therefore shaped by several people, several places and a continuous chain of knowledge.
The Agroforestry Vineyard
In spring 2023, Pierre planted 500 vines by hand throughout Campo Sasso’s existing olive grove. Rather than creating a conventional vineyard organised as a single crop, he chose four grape varieties with very different origins and characteristics: Zibibbo, Assyrtiko, Riesling and Petit Manseng.
The vines grow among olive trees, peach, apricot, pear, apple and persimmon trees, together with artichokes, berries, herbs and spontaneous vegetation. Hens also contribute to the life and balance of this small agricultural ecosystem.
This diversified system offers a contemporary interpretation of Tuscany’s historic coltura promiscua, in which vines, trees, crops and animals once shared the same land. Today, this approach is understood as a form of agroforestry.
Diversity as Resilience
Permanent natural ground cover helps protect the soil, retain water and support microbial and insect life. The different layers of vegetation create shade, habitats and biological interactions that would be absent from a conventional monoculture.
Campo Sasso’s vineyard is therefore not intended as a model for maximum production. It is an evolving experiment in diversity, adaptation and the relationship between grape varieties, trees and the Tuscan climate.
Sasso Rosso
Sasso Rosso is the house wine of Campo Sasso, created by Pierre to accompany artisan cheese, convivial food and the shared table.
It is not produced as a conventional single-vintage estate wine. It brings together different grapes, vintages, ageing methods and skills through close relationships with trusted growers and winemakers in the Val d’Ema.
This freedom allows Pierre to focus on balance, freshness and drinkability rather than conforming to a fixed marketing style. Sasso Rosso is certified organic and reflects a collective approach to wine: one shaped by the land, but also by the people and decisions behind it.
A Wine Created for the Table
Sasso Rosso was designed to work with food, particularly mature cheese. Its structure and freshness seek to complement salt, fat, texture and aromatic intensity without overwhelming them.
For Pierre, wine only finds its full meaning when it brings people, food and conversation together. Sasso Rosso is therefore less a tasting object than a wine intended to be opened, shared and enjoyed.
Olio del Campo
Olive trees have long been part of the landscape of Campo Sasso. Their fruit is harvested to produce a very limited quantity of Olio del Campo, our organic Chianti Classico DOP extra virgin olive oil.
The olives are taken rapidly to Frantoio Pruneti in San Polo in Chianti, where the oil is extracted using modern equipment designed to preserve freshness, aromas and phenolic compounds. The oil is filtered to improve stability and bottled in dark glass to protect it from light and oxidation.
Olio del Campo changes subtly with each harvest. Its bitterness, pungency and aromatic character reflect the olive varieties, the season, the timing of harvest and the condition of the fruit.
Understanding Extra Virgin Olive Oil
High-quality extra virgin olive oil is not defined by romantic expressions such as “first press.” Modern extra virgin olive oil is produced through mechanical crushing, malaxation and centrifugal separation rather than traditional pressing.
Its quality depends upon healthy olives, rapid extraction, careful storage and freshness. During a guided olive oil experience at Campo Sasso, guests can learn how to taste an oil, recognise positive attributes and common defects, and understand the information provided on a label.
