Watching the serene, golden atmosphere of the sunrise from the hills of Corte Pavone, my thoughts return to the past and extend into the future. Over there, where the rising sun’s rays shatter the silhouettes of Montal-ino, images are kindled which portray my path of life, youthful ambitions are given solid foundations. The fascination of nature is inexhaustible: vine & wine and everything connected with them become realities. Left behind in the past, though very much in the present, is the part of my life spent in the development of the family business and recently the homeopathic company. The environs of Corte Pavone have changed, the hill appears splendid and prouder, set among new buildings, sloping on three sides and surrounded by vineyards. The estate commands an extensive view of the landscape, the valley, and Siena is in the distance. Gentle, harmonious, as though there were no time scale, the heart is gladdened. 62 years of past, the remainder is dedicated to future energy, drive and creative power. All these elements provide the setting for my whole personality. Among the many beautiful passages in Herman Hesse’s Siddharta is one where the prince, the Enlightened One soon to become The Buddha, is sitting on a river bank and understands that, without chronometry, the past and the future are always in the present, just as the river is there where one can see it, but at the same time is at its source and mouth. The water which has yet to flow past is the morning, but it is already there further upstream, and what has already flowed past is yesterday, though still present somewhere else in the valley. Life flows, a coming and going just like the water in its infinite continuity. All that is old, steadfastly acquired through hard work and experience provides a foundation for young shoots and gives new energy to new innovations, where the past and future are in the present. Wine has played a significant role among great personalities such as painters, poets, musicians, philosophers, in their manner of thinking and creating, aiding their intellectual ideas to take concrete form. “Spiritus non potest habitare in sicco“ – are words ascribed to the Roman priest and theologian Augustine (354 – 430 AD), i.e., “The spirit cannot live in dryness”. Meaning wine of course, to be enjoyed in moderation. I have had plenty of aims in my life up to now, wine has inspired my ideas and creative power to the point where from the fount of these three wine estates we have been able to underpin tenacity, dedication and creativity, so much so that last of all our wine philosophy enables the consumer to combine intellect with the heart. ‘We’ in this context includes the Loacker family and employees.