Even before telling you about our 2025, it feels right to reaffirm how agriculture lies at the very heart of everything we do. For us, being farmers means not only preserving a place, but giving new life to a territory and to its natural, human, economic, and cultural ecosystem. It means being active, regenerative stewards. Always keeping in mind that beauty is a shared language and a legacy for the future of our land; as someone once said, it “does not hide the darkness of the world, but illuminates it.”
No goal can be achieved without the training ground that mistakes represent, without the people who work alongside you and share your values because they are also their own, without a network of local collaborations that strengthen one another.
And here I would like to open a small parenthesis, because we often struggle to find true interlocutors. The hilly Maremma remains a largely unexpressed potential. Those who live and work here must learn to build networks and understand that their neighbor’s prosperity is also their own, because the attractiveness of such a vast territory is born from a virtuous and integrated offering made up of people, activities, services, technology, and infrastructure (I deliberately listed infrastructure last — mindset must come first). The presence of scattered “pearls” that do not communicate with one another is not enough. Still, I remain hopeful, because I work with young people from the Maremma in whom I see a new openness and renewed energy.
At La Maliosa, we are committed not only to producing high-quality products, but also to raising awareness of the value of the hilly Maremma. We invest in people and in their training so that they can genuinely choose to stay, without feeling they are settling for less—offered opportunities for both personal and professional growth, with fulfillment and economic sustainability. And, no less importantly, with the awareness that an agricultural company like ours must be able to listen to its customers, to adapt, and to grow by interpreting the new complexities of these years.
Turning now to 2025, it has been a year of significant structural development, involving digitalization, production infrastructure, equipment, and new spaces dedicated to hospitality.
Science returns among La Maliosa’s vines
Some connections are rediscovered and give rise to something special. We are happy to resume our collaboration with CREA for the three-year project ARTYBIO. Together with researchers from Florence and Conegliano, starting in November we embarked on a scientific journey among the vines of La Maliosa: we will observe the microarthropods that bring soil to life and study the indigenous yeasts that animate our cellar. A path from soil to glass, to celebrate and protect the biodiversity that makes our wine unique.
Over the next three years, we will study biodiversity in all its forms: from the tiny microorganisms in the soil to the natural yeasts in the must. Because for us, a great wine can only be such if it is born first and foremost from a living, healthy ecosystem.
The monitoring of biodiversity also continues through the tracking of wild pollinator activity, thanks to sensors connected to the XNatura platform by 3Bee, which constantly monitors our site. The data, updated in real time, confirm that our site has a significantly higher level of biodiversity compared to surrounding areas.
A new winery
We can consider 2025 a turning point for wine production at La Maliosa, thanks to the new winery, operational since September, which we had been waiting for — between permits and construction — for over six years. We now have separate and suitable spaces for each phase of winemaking, fermentation, and aging.
The new facilities have also allowed us to upgrade our equipment, enabling choices that represent a significant step forward.
For example, the new stainless-steel fermentation vessels allow for optimal fermentations thanks to their ability to dissipate heat and greatly facilitate sanitation operations. The new equipment dedicated to grape reception can now transfer the crushed grapes into the tanks while minimizing stress on the berries, which arrive almost entirely intact. We have also introduced equipment for washing harvest crates, ensuring that all grapes collected on different harvest days are always placed in perfectly sanitized containers. Finally, the new bottling machine allows us to speed up filling operations, thus limiting the wine’s exposure to oxygen.
As our winemaker Filippo Paoletti states:
“Our philosophy, focused on achieving the highest quality in our natural wines, has been further implemented by optimizing the production chain and allowing us to eliminate critical phases of potential exposure to oxygen and unwanted microorganisms.”
The 2025 season in the fields
The 2025 wine-growing season was characterized by a mild and moderately rainy spring, which favored good bud break and optimal initial vegetative growth. In summer, the high temperatures in June and July and low rainfall slowed berry growth, a condition largely compensated for by rains at the end of August. At harvest, the grapes were healthy, with a slight quantitative decrease due to smaller berry size — a condition that resulted in musts with a high polyphenolic content and good structure. Overall, it was a fairly typical vintage, except for some heavy rains in early September that created a few unexpected challenges during harvest.
Olive production in 2025 yielded oils of great character, despite the rainy spring. Thanks to a balanced ecosystem, our cultivars handled climatic challenges well, also supported by a natural defense strategy using rock powders. Olive quality remained high, ensuring excellent oils. Among the cultivars, Leccino stood out for its adaptability. This quality was recognized also in 2025, when our Caletra oil received the Extragold Medal from Biol, the 5 Drops from Bibenda, and a Great Taste star.
Training and professional growth as a mantra
La Maliosa’s growth is driven by constant teamwork that must be continually trained and motivated. Today, we have responsible figures in every sector, capable of working as a cohesive and flexible team. The goal of offering attentive service with a personal touch can only be achieved through ongoing training at all levels.
A human heart supported by solid tech infrastructure
To tell and enhance the gift that nature has given us in this wonderful corner of Maremma, it is essential to integrate and make the best use of technology and innovation, allowing us to bring this story to many people beyond our territory.
In 2025, we completely renewed our website, making it the primary point of access and contact, thanks to the strategic and graphic contribution of RBA DESIGN. High-impact photos tell the story of the territory, wines, oils, and experiences, alongside an interface designed for easy and immediate interaction. Through the website, visitors can stay updated on all activities at La Maliosa and book directly.
The online shop was also renewed in 2025, allowing customers to quickly find their chosen product along with all necessary information and proceed directly to purchase. Finally, we implemented a digital CRM platform that enables us to get to know and communicate with our clients before and after their visit, helping them fully experience La Maliosa.
La Maliosa’s story is also showcased through social media channels. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram are key pillars of our communication, and starting this year, Fattoria La Maliosa is also present on TikTok, where we engage with a younger but attentive audience interested in natural wine and a slow, authentic lifestyle.
Hospitality
Throughout the year, we offered a wide range of experiences that attracted a young, international clientele. We are a rather atypical winery, as our typical visitor is largely made up of Gen Z and Millennials (50% under the age of 40), as well as international guests (44%). Tastings, picnics, special events, music in the vineyard, afternoons by the fireplace, e-bike tours, and sunsets from the StarsBOX. The goal is always to welcome people and make them feel at ease, offering quality products alongside moments of relaxation and enjoyment in unspoiled spaces.
Open 364 days a year, La Maliosa welcomed around 2,500 guests through individual visits, couples, families, and evening events organized during the summer season.
The year 2025 was also the first year of full operation of the Saturnalia Village Rooms, our B&B in the village of Saturnia that offers five charming rooms in a 1600s mansion, with the Saturnalia Wine Bar in the square. The care we have taken in creating this hospitality space, the attention to materials and sustainability, have been appreciated by national and international clientele. And not only that! The Saturnalia Village Rooms in December 2025 obtained from Dream & Charme the Sustainable Structure Certification, recognized by all major OTAs. An achievement that once again sees us as a forerunner in the area.
Nature, art, and design
Always attentive to art — especially projects that enhance and exalt the landscape in which we are located — in 2025, in collaboration with the Ukrainian artists of Getman Studio, we creatively renewed our four StarsBOX. An imaginative and decorative project that enhances, through shapes and colors, the micro-cabins Aria, Terra, Maliosa, and Uliveta. Four spaces, four small places of art capable of creating a connection between earth, nature, and sky.
Events and international collaborations in the wine sector
We know we live in a magnificent territory, and this goes hand in hand with the desire to tell its story and make it known to the world. In 2025, we participated in numerous events and fairs, in Italy and abroad. In particular, we took part in several masterclasses thanks to collaborations with Donne del Vino, The Porto Protocol — of which I became Italian Regional Representative in 2025 — and The Old Vine Conference.
Thanks to the collaboration with the latter and its founder Leo Austin, we were able to direct our commercial efforts toward Asia, where we have been present in the Japanese market for years. We undertook two targeted trips: first to Shenzhen in spring, then to Hong Kong and Shanghai in autumn. The result was the acquisition of a new importer in Hong Kong. Our efforts will certainly continue in 2026.
At the end of 2025 we also joined the Associazione Grandi Cru della Costa Toscana.
Looking ahead
2025 was a year of transformation that required hard work and commitment from both myself and the entire team. With 2026, we will complete this process and finally be able to speak of a project conceived at the end of the 2000s that is now reaching its definitive form — very close to what was originally imagined.
All of this while remaining faithful to our mission of respecting the originality of our territory, in sharing with all our partners, guests, clients, and collaborators.
I thank those who, with me, work every day to bring our world to life and make it accessible:
“We embrace Nature,” together.
Antonella Manuli
