Producer Spotlight: Il Borro Wines, a sip of Italy in Jackson Hole
With its varied terrain, romantic landscapes, and pleasureful celebrations, Jackson Hole is a première vacation destination as is Italy with its abundance of pastoral scenes and picturesque hillsides. The aesthetics of elegant country living available in both locales makes the two places a perfect pairing and is just one of the reasons The Clear Creek Group showcases Il Borro’s organic wines from the exquisite region of Tuscany. Paramount is Il Borro’s commitment to organic and sustainable practices which complement The Clear Creek Group’s quest to introduce guests and visitors to fine products that are sustainably sourced and crafted.
After an introduction to Salvatore Ferragamo by a mutual Florentine acquaintance in 2008 and an ensuing friendship, Morgan Bruemmer, a founder of The Clear Creek Group and a wine industry veteran, believed a partnership with Il Borro could be both enjoyable and unique. Salvatore, who heads up the esteemed organic wine production at his family’s Il Borro estate, says the bridge that unites The Clear Creek Group in Jackson with Il Borro in Tuscany is the pursuit of unique, authentic experiences and shared appreciation for the true value of quality.
The Il Borro estate comprises an ancient medieval village and castle that was purchased by Salvatore’s father, Ferrucio Ferragamo, in 1993 after he was drawn to the natural beauty and storied history of the place. When the Ferragamo family set out to restore Il Borro to its original luster, Salvatore was immediately attracted to the variegated terrain surrounding the estate. The Valdarno valley’s lush woodlands, sandy terraces, and clay soil were ideal for producing wine.
Salvatore wanted to make wines that speak of the magical part of the region, and says Tuscany is unique in the world of wine. It has that fantastic, wonderful diversity of soil needed to make interesting wines, and his wines speak of that terroir. He says this is why he is in love with the special wines from Tuscany.
Relying on this concept of terroir, Il Borro wines achieved full organic certification in 2015 after a three-year conversion from conventional to organic viticulture, and since then, the estate has focused on reducing its environmental impact by implementing other sustainable practices. Thanks to practices like rainwater recovery and storage, and producing solar energy onsite, Il Borro has significantly enhanced its self-sufficiency and achieved a negative carbon footprint. Sustainability is a guiding concept in Il Borro’s philosophy, and the estate is continuously striving to harmonize with the environment and the community.
Salvatore is passionate about producing exceptional organic wines and what excites him the most is making wine in collaboration with nature. He says every vintage has different challenges, and depending on the weather patterns in a given year, the grape grower must understand what to do and what not to do which is what makes it exciting.
As an example, he says to imagine you have a year like 2023. It was a different year with a lot of rain and a lot of humidity. To ensure quality, careful pruning was necessary to provide extra sun on the vines. During harvest, you then have to be more selective on which grapes you bring to the cellar and which you leave behind. The result is fewer grapes and less wine, but maintains the high quality of the vintage. He says another year will provide a super harvest with good quantity along with meeting the high-quality standard.
Salvatore says he wants to make sure Il Borro wines are enjoyed for their quality, adding that it is also important that the wines are enjoyed with the ecology and not only for their taste.
He emphasizes that from a quality point of view he wants to make wines that are good for you in the sense that they are not using chemicals which will end up in your wine glass.
Does Salvatore have a favorite wine? He says he loves his wine like he loves his kids: “They are all great, and they are all good.” However, Il Borro has a flagship wine that is a very special blend of Merlot, Cabernet and Syrah. Salvatore describes it as full bodied with the Merlot contributing blackberry flavors with hints of dark chocolate and the spicier Syrah contributing with white peppery spices. The flagship blend is Il Borro Toscana, and Salvatore says pairing it with a Wyoming dinner is simple — a rib-eye steak makes for the perfect combination.
A challenge Salvatore faces is separating the famed Ferragamo name with the name Il Borro. (Founded by Salvatore’s grandfather, Salvatore Ferragamo is a luxury, haute couture brand.) Salvatore says he wants to be recognized as a quality producer of wines and not related to a famous name. Though he acknowledges there are interesting similarities between fashion and wine such as every year there is a new Salvatore clothing collection just like there is a new vintage of Il Borro wine, he says it is important to make a distinction. He says to know the wine is to know a unique element of passion, separate from the fashion house’s fame.
The 1,000-year-old Il Borro village surrounding the winery is dotted with open-door, artisan workshops, luxury accommodations, and farm-to-table dining along with agricultural activities. It is a land of living traditions. The love for the land is felt in every corner, and the local flavors of Tuscany are ever-present. Home-grown vegetables from Orto del Borro, the organic gardens headed up by Salvatore’s sister Vittoria Ferragamo, along with sheep, foraging fields, thirty beehives, two hundred free-range chickens, and olive trees provide sustenance to the estate and the surrounding hamlet’s restaurants. Il Borro produces wines, vegetables, and food products from the land according to the rhythms and needs of nature. Salvatore says the farm and wine are all tied to one another.
Along with featuring Il Borro Wines as a welcome gift for Jackson Hole guests, The Clear Creek Group is a trusted lodging partner for the enchanting Il Borro estate. The concierge team would be delighted to arrange an international stay for you there on your next trip to Italy.
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There is so much to do in Jackson Hole. Rush downriver in a kayak. Ride horseback through a sea of golden grass. Cast a line into water clear as the sky, while the fish flash by like stars. There’s hiking, biking, snowmobiling, and of course, skiing. The Clear Creek Group affiliates with the best service providers in the area, people as passionate as we are about providing great experiences. We can arrange anything imaginable, from backcountry pack trips and heli-skiing to the selection of a personal chef.
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