Beulah Violetta
For many, the covid pandemic was a radical catalyst. And for Annie Conley and James Hird, the pandemic cemented the couple’s desire to trade their home in suburban Sydney for a house in the vineyards of Europe. For James, a sommelier, and Annie, a chef and food & travel writer, their journey from locked-down in Australia to land-locked in Italy was a circuitous one. They had been looking for the ‘right’ property for years, and had driven extensively throughout France and Italy looking for a site that had all the elements they were looking for: elevation, soil, wilderness and ‘somewhere they felt drawn too’. They finally found what they were looking for in the hills surrounding the village of Todi, a 90 minute drive north of Rome.
The property, which they purchased in 2022, has 10 hectares of vines, 400 olive trees, wheat fields and a beautiful 150-year-old farmhouse. The original vineyard, planted in 2000, is a field blend of Sangiovese, Sagrantino and Merlot, planted on clay soils streaked with limestone, at an elevation of 450- 550 meters. In 2023 they added plantings of Ciliegiolo, Trebbiano, and Trebbiano Spoletino, plus more Sangiovese and Merlot. On the property they also commercially grow wheat for pasta production, produce oil from the olive trees and cultivate a huge vegetable garden for personal use. The entire farm has been in biodynamic conversion since they purchased the property, and will be fully certified in 2026. The name, Beulah Violetta, is an interlacing of James and Annie’s grandmothers’ names, and was chosen to honor these two strong-willed women. Beulah Tucker, Annie’s nanna, was a South Australian country woman born in the vineyards of McLaren Vale. She worked the land and did the mail run between remote properties. Violet Campbell, James’ grandmother, hailed from London’s East End. She lived through two world wars and was an incredible cook and avid traveler.
Stesso Stesso (‘same same’), their first release, is a single-vineyard field blend from the original 22-year old plot of Sangiovese, Sagrantino and Merlot. They harvest these grapes a little early and aim to make a cuvee with lightness and freshness at the fore. Whole bunches are fermented with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel with a light 3 day maceration…Beaujolais by way of central Italy. In the coming years they plan to make more ‘serious’ cuvées with the plantings of Ciliegiolo, Trebbiano, and Trebbiano Spoletino, as well as the original Merlot and Sangiovese. They will continue to use a minimal approach in the cellar, using wild yeast fermentations, no fining, filtering or other additions, and only tiny amounts of sulfites added at bottling. The next generation of wines will be the same same, but different.
