When Erik Banti came to live here in the mid-Seventies, the Maremma countryside had little to offer: it was cold, dark and lonely. So Erik opened a restaurant, to enjoy a warm hearth and a little company in the evening when the winemaking work was done.
This is how the Montemerano house became the home of a taste laboratory which redefined the boundaries of Maremma cooking and winemaking, with homemade pasta and desserts, wild boar, lamb, fresh ricotta and wild local herbs.
Erik got the local people involved in “his” crostini and this was the beginning of the “salsine” and other gastronomic delicacies to delight the senses at the Antico Frantoio which still take pride of place alongside his wines.