Il Paradiso di Frassina – a little gem in the Tuscan town of Montalcino
I guess only few images stay in our minds as an ideal of peace, poetry, beauty and pleasure as the
hilly landscape of the countryside in Tuscany does. Now to be clear, Italy is so much more than this 
famous region, but this doesn’t diminish its importance to any food-wine-traveling lovers (like me!).
Extensive green-yellow fields of grain that grows new every year, beautiful yellow sunflower fields
and aged grape vineyards providing us with the pleasure of tasting the best wines.
Gravel roads lined by 15meters tall cypress trees. The sound of the bells of the nearest church of that tiny little village
that seems so far, and yet so close. The birds chirping and the soothing wind touching the harvest grain fields. It’s hard to imagine any other scene more perfect than that.
But it can get better; let me introduce you to the Il Paradiso di Frassina.
In our first article I told you about my solo trip to Italy back in 2012.
The landlord of the room I rented in Milan had suggested that I contacted a friend of hers who had a winery in Montalcino.
One thing you’ll notice when you get to Montalcino is: everything is about wine! Restaurants, stores,
try and get lost in a wine shop with tasting options by the glass. You can have the opportunity to try
different labels at once, especially their excellent Brunello di Montalcino or even the famous Sassicaia! – I just wish I had, back then, the little knowledge I have now, to fully appreciate that experience.
The landlord’s friend is Ulisse, a former lawyer from Milan. Along with local wine tasting he told me
about his story and how he decided to leave the fuzzy large city in northern Italy
and join his dad Carlo, who had bought this winery a few years back.
The property also has a beautifully decorated
countryside guesthouse, or agriturismo, that is definitely worth the stay.
I remember waking up to the sound of a classical symphony coming from outside.
When I opened the window, I couldn’t believe my own eyes: that perfect Tuscan scene filled with music notes from
Mozart.
It was one of the most beautiful recollections I have from all my trips.
But why the music?
At the present date there are approximately 500 thousand publications on Google Scholar related to
the effects of noise, sounds, and music on plants. Back in 1926 a renowned Indian plant physiologist and physicist named Jagdish Chandra Bose, published the book “The Nervous Mechanism of Plants” following his research into plants and how they react to the environment in which they are nurtured.
He concluded that they are indeed sensitive to their external environment, including noise.
Another more recent study, from 2019, also from India, concluded that music plays an important
role in the growth and development of plants, and that the exposure of seedlings, as well as mature
plants, to music (including western classical music) elevates the levels of polyamines and increased
their uptake of oxygen, facilitating the physiological processes like nutrient absorption,
photosynthesis, protein synthesis and an over all development of healthier plants with better yield.
Mozart is not there for no reason. In 1993 a study published in Nature by Francis Rauscher claimed
that after listening to Mozart individuals showed significantly better spatial reasoning skills, the so-
called “Mozart-effect”.
That’s what Carlo, Ulisse and their team have been working on – aligning the benefits of classical
music on the vines not just to create a great wine, but also a great experience.
When you come to their vineyard you get to enjoy the environment in which the wineries grow and
bloom as well as taste the effects Mozart’s harmony lend to the notes within a glass of wine.
Salute!
