To explore the merits of a cave feels a touch silly. On the one hand, caves are humanity’s oldest architecture. Demonstrably a big deal! But on the other hand, when’s the last time any of us were actually in one? For most, the answer is not recently. But if you’re like me and have discovered the otherworldly delights of tasting wine underground, the conversation topic of caves isn’t so silly after all. On a purely logistical level, the practice of storing wine in a subterranean chamber is useful for maintaining cool, consistent temperatures that are conducive to aging wine. But from a theatrical standpoint, the opportunity to descend into the earth, wander through dark corridors, and sample historic bottles by candlelight? That’s an experience I’d suggest prioritizing.

For more than 700 years, the Frescobaldi family has been a patron of both the arts and the vine. From Renaissance Florence—where they supported Brunelleschi and Michelangelo—to modern Tuscany, where they steward some of Italy’s most prestigious estates, the family has always seen art and wine as larger than commerce. They are culture and continuity. That ethos is today most visible in Vendemmia d’Artista, the family’s Ornellaia wine estate’s annual fusion of fine wine and contemporary art.

As growers grapple with rising temperatures, drought and increasingly erratic weather patterns, attention is turning to one of viticulture’s oldest assets: soil. Producers and researchers say vineyard resilience may depend as much on what lies beneath the vines as what grows above them.