Leonardo da Vinci “Mona Lisa wine” supports the Meyer Children Hospital Foundation

The “wine of the Mona Lisa” by Leonardo da Vinci, the quintessential Italian genius who, in the background of his masterpiece, the most admired work of art in the world, housed at the Louvre Museum in Paris, depicted one of the seven bridges spanning the Arno River between Arezzo and Florence (as WineNews explained in a video, ed), a magnificent 12th-century Romanesque structure around which the vineyards are located, is helping support Italy leading world-class center for highly specialized pediatric care and scientific research. In recent days, the Valdarno di Sopra DOC Wine Consortium celebrated the anniversary No. 15 of the denomination recognition with a solidarity-focused event, “Bridge of Wines”, a signature dinner held on the renowned Ponte Buriano. The event was sold out - welcoming more than 200 participants - and brought together producers, chefs, and representatives of the Valdarno region, in the heart of Tuscany, around a single table in a collective and identity-driven narrative. The proceeds (after deduction of organizational expenses, editor’s note) are being donated entirely to the Meyer Children’s Hospital Foundation in Florence for its “3D Printing” project, an advanced technology applied to the planning of complex pediatric surgery.
One of Tuscany smallest wine denominations  - with just over 300 hectares of vineyards -  and already recognized in the 1716 decree issued by Grand Duke Cosimo III de’ Medici, the wine-producing area of Valdarno in Tuscany is working to better define its identity and distinctiveness, encapsulated in a production of just over 350,000 bottles. The trend is increasingly toward single-varietal and single-vineyard wines. Moreover, it is the only denomination in Italy in which all member wineries of the Consortium (23 producers) are certified organic. This commitment translates into the preservation of the landscape, biodiversity, and the quality of both the territory and its wines.
To highlight the value of the connection between territorial excellence and solidarity, alongside the producers of Valdarno di Sopra DOC  - 29 wines were poured in wine glasses, served by Fisar sommeliers - the event featured active participation from the leadership of the Meyer Children’s Hospital Foundation, including general secretary Alessandro Benedetti and professor Flavio Facchini, head of the “3D Printing” project, who described its extraordinary clinical impact. Also attending were the President of the Tuscany Region, Eugenio Giani; local mayors; Rita Babini, president of Fivi - Federazione Italiana Vignaioli Indipendenti (the Italian Federation of Independent Winegrowers); agricultural organizations; and members of the media. The menu for the gala dinner began with an aperitif prepared by the region leading food artisans, strongly inspired by Slow Food principles, including the Montevarchi Producers Market, Laura Peri, Il Borro Farm and its vegetable garden, and Simone Fracassi. They were joined by a brigade of renowned Tuscan chefs, including Gaetano Trovato (Arnolfo Restaurant, two Michelin stars), Andrea Campani (Executive Chef at Il Borro Relais & Châteaux), Francesco Berardinelli (Barlesh Restaurant), Leonardo Norcini (Falterona Restaurant), and Fabio Bardelli and Gianni Malentacchi (Fabio e Gianni Pastry Shop). Finally, the Club Amici del Toscano hosted a cigar tasting paired with local Vin Santo and Vermouth.
“Dining on this historic bridge was not only a moment of great fascination, but also symbolized the unbreakable bond between the land, the vineyard, and our table  - said Luca Sanjust, president of the Valdarno di Sopra DOC Wine Consortium and owner of Petrolo -  celebrating the anniversary No. 15 of the DOC with a fully organic and charitable event demonstrates that the future of Tuscan wine must pass through sustainability and the enhancement of our cultural identity”.
According to Ettore Ciancico, director of the Consortium, “this demonstrates that meaningful projects and proposals can also originate from smaller denominations, which may be modest in size but are great in the quality they express. The territory is what leads and prevails because it produces wines of remarkable territorial character”.
“When, together with the other producers of the area, we first came together with the idea of reviving this ancient denomination, we knew we were taking on an important challenge  - recalls Salvatore Ferragamo, vicepresident of Il Borro, the estate owned by the historic Italian fashion family, and board member of Valdarno di Sopra DOC - Il Borro believed in this project from the very beginning and wanted to play a leading role because this renaissance represented, for me and my family, the natural expression of a vision we have pursued for more than thirty years. We believe that organic agriculture, landscape conservation, the promotion of local production, and wine culture are powerful tools for telling the story of a territory, generating value, and preserving its heritage. This philosophy finds its ideal setting in Valdarno di Sopra DOC: a place where quality arises from the ability to work together, from collaboration among producers, and from a shared commitment to safeguarding a unique heritage while looking to the future with responsibility, vision, and a spirit of innovation”.
“A commitment which has made both the Consortium and the Valdarno di Sopra DOC which we have always supported, the first entirely organic denomination in Italy  - underlines Amedeo Moretti Cuseri, manager of the family-owned Tenuta Sette Ponti estate. The estate recently celebrated the anniversary No.25 of Oreno, its flagship wine, choosing Ponte Buriano as the perfect backdrop to unite the story of the wine with that of its territory and symbols. “It is important to work together and create synergies because this means believing in this territory, which, in addition to its natural beauty, possesses extraordinary historical and cultural treasures such as this bridge depicted by Leonardo behind Mona Lisa, treasures which deserve to be enhanced and turned into symbols, also through events inspired by wine”.
A “small” territory, yet one with an extraordinary story to tell through wine as its medium, where the wine industry and the local community work together, finding in the DOC the ideal synthesis through which to build their future, drawing inspiration from an important past and an equally significant present.