The Peaceful Warrior

Il Palagio

The couple has owned the Tuscan estate for 11 years and has spent that time transforming the property into a self-sustaining, biodynamic farmland. More than 70 percent of the food comes from the land itself, including fruits and vegetables that take up a plot the size of a football field. They also produce Tuscan salami, and the aforementioned honey that comes from 100 families of bees who produce three different varieties of the natural liquid sugar. Their organic agricultural way of life is documented in the series with bonus material that includes a tour of the estate’s kitchen and gardens, and a behind-the-scenes peek into how they use the surrounding land to create an eco-friendly house that runs on bio fuels.

In 2010, Styler and Sting will release their first organic wine, Sister Moon, marketed after Sting’s 1987 song featured on the album Nothing Like The Sun. “I wanted to lend my support to what is going on in Tuscany vis-à-vis the wine industry, which, with the exception of the great Brunello and fine estate of Antinori Frescobaldi, is largely collapsing. Il Palagio has lent itself to being fairly sustainable, so we set about looking for a way that we could embark on this venture to convert the vineyards into biodynamic ones.” They found Sonoma County Benziger Estate enologist Allan York, who according to Styler has the best tasting wines because of their biodynamic nature that are processed with less sulfites.