'When cousins Ilario and Leopoldo Ruffino embraced their passion for winemaking in 1877, opening a small winery in Pontassieve near Florence, the region already had a centuries-old tradition of growing exceptional wine grapes. The two Tuscan natives still felt certain that much of the area's greatness had yet to be revealed. Tuscany had good fortune: mineral-laden soils; the cooling influence of the Mediterranean Sea; dry summers that favor wine grapes; and luscious, sun-drenched hills. As word