Marchesi Antinori
Summary
Marchesi Antinori, a 26-generation family wine business spanning 635 years, operates 2,700 hectares of vineyards across Italy and internationally, producing benchmark wines like Tignanello and Solaia from limestone-rich Tuscan soils and Bordeaux varieties in coastal Bolgheri. Their revolutionary approach—introducing Super Tuscans in 1971 while maintaining traditional methods—combines gravity-flow winemaking with environmental sustainability, cementing their status as pioneers who transformed Italian winemaking while preserving their centuries-old heritage.
Heritage & Leadership
Marchesi Antinori stands as one of the oldest family-owned wine businesses in the world, with documented wine production dating back to 1385 when Giovanni di Piero Antinori joined the Florentine Winemakers' Guild. This 26-generation family enterprise has maintained continuous family ownership for over 635 years, navigating through Renaissance Florence, two World Wars, and the evolution of modern Italian winemaking.
The company is currently led by Albiera Antinori, who became president in 2016, working alongside her sisters Allegra and Alessia. Their father, Marchese Piero Antinori, who led the company from 1966 to 2016, remains involved as Honorary President. Under Piero's leadership, Antinori introduced revolutionary wines like Tignanello in 1971, which broke from traditional Chianti Classico regulations by including non-indigenous grape varieties and omitting white grapes from the blend. This bold move helped establish the Super Tuscan category that transformed Italian winemaking.
The family's expansion beyond Tuscany began in the 1940s with investments in Umbria, accelerating in the 1980s and 1990s with acquisitions in Piedmont, Puglia, and international ventures in California, Chile, and Hungary. In 2012, the company opened Antinori nel Chianti Classico, a gravity-flow winery built into the Tuscan hillside near Bargino, serving as both production facility and architectural showcase for the family's historical artifacts and contemporary vision.
## Vineyards & Wines
Antinori's vineyard holdings span approximately 2,700 hectares across Italy and beyond, with the heart of production remaining in Tuscany. The family owns several distinct estates, each with specific terroir characteristics. The Tignanello estate in the Chianti Classico region encompasses 319 hectares, of which 130 are under vine. Here, the limestone-rich soils with alberese and galestro components provide ideal conditions for Sangiovese cultivation at elevations between 350-400 meters above sea level.
At the neighboring 45-hectare Badia a Passignano estate, vineyards surrounding an ancient abbey produce Sangiovese grapes for the estate's Gran Selezione Chianti Classico. Further south in Bolgheri, the 320-hectare Guado al Tasso estate includes 300 hectares of vineyards planted primarily to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot on alluvial soils near the Tyrrhenian coast.
The family's portfolio includes several benchmark wines: Tignanello, typically composed of 80% Sangiovese, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Cabernet Franc; Solaia, a Cabernet-dominant blend from a 10-hectare vineyard adjacent to Tignanello; and Guado al Tasso, the Bolgheri estate's flagship Bordeaux-style blend. In Montalcino, their Pian delle Vigne estate produces traditional Brunello from 65 hectares of Sangiovese vineyards at elevations of 130-300 meters. The company's white wine production centers on the 325-hectare Castello della Sala estate in Umbria, where they produce Cervaro della Sala, a Chardonnay-based wine with a small percentage of Grechetto.
## Philosophy & Practice
Antinori's winemaking philosophy balances respect for tradition with technological innovation. The family summarizes this approach with their motto: "Ancient roots play an important role in our philosophy, but they have never held back our spirit of innovation." This principle manifests in their winemaking practices, where traditional techniques coexist with modern methods tailored to each estate's specific conditions.
At Tignanello, grapes undergo careful selection both before and after destemming, followed by gentle crushing. Fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks, with maceration periods varying by vintage conditions. The wines age primarily in French and Hungarian oak barrels, with specific protocols for each wine: Tignanello typically spends 12-14 months in a combination of new and one-year-old French and Hungarian oak barriques, followed by a minimum of 12 months in bottle before release.
The company has invested significantly in research and development, implementing precision viticulture techniques that include detailed soil mapping, weather monitoring stations, and vine-by-vine management systems. Their gravity-flow winery design at Antinori nel Chianti Classico minimizes mechanical intervention in the winemaking process.
Environmental sustainability forms a core component of Antinori's long-term strategy. The company has implemented water conservation systems, solar energy production, and reduced chemical interventions in the vineyards. Their Antinori nel Chianti Classico facility was designed with environmental considerations, including a living roof covered with vineyards that provides natural insulation and integrates the structure into the landscape. Several of their estates, including Castello della Sala, have achieved organic certification, with vineyar
Vineyards & Wines
Antinori's vineyard holdings span approximately 2,700 hectares across Italy and beyond, with the heart of production remaining in Tuscany. The family owns several distinct estates, each with specific terroir characteristics. The Tignanello estate in the Chianti Classico region encompasses 319 hectares, of which 130 are under vine. Here, the limestone-rich soils with alberese and galestro components provide ideal conditions for Sangiovese cultivation at elevations between 350-400 meters above sea level.
At the neighboring 45-hectare Badia a Passignano estate, vineyards surrounding an ancient abbey produce Sangiovese grapes for the estate's Gran Selezione Chianti Classico. Further south in Bolgheri, the 320-hectare Guado al Tasso estate includes 300 hectares of vineyards planted primarily to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot on alluvial soils near the Tyrrhenian coast.
The family's portfolio includes several benchmark wines: Tignanello, typically composed of 80% Sangiovese, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Cabernet Franc; Solaia, a Cabernet-dominant blend from a 10-hectare vineyard adjacent to Tignanello; and Guado al Tasso, the Bolgheri estate's flagship Bordeaux-style blend. In Montalcino, their Pian delle Vigne estate produces traditional Brunello from 65 hectares of Sangiovese vineyards at elevations of 130-300 meters. The company's white wine production centers on the 325-hectare Castello della Sala estate in Umbria, where they produce Cervaro della Sala, a Chardonnay-based wine with a small percentage of Grechetto.
## Philosophy & Practice
Antinori's winemaking philosophy balances respect for tradition with technological innovation. The family summarizes this approach with their motto: "Ancient roots play an important role in our philosophy, but they have never held back our spirit of innovation." This principle manifests in their winemaking practices, where traditional techniques coexist with modern methods tailored to each estate's specific conditions.
At Tignanello, grapes undergo careful selection both before and after destemming, followed by gentle crushing. Fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks, with maceration periods varying by vintage conditions. The wines age primarily in French and Hungarian oak barrels, with specific protocols for each wine: Tignanello typically spends 12-14 months in a combination of new and one-year-old French and Hungarian oak barriques, followed by a minimum of 12 months in bottle before release.
The company has invested significantly in research and development, implementing precision viticulture techniques that include detailed soil mapping, weather monitoring stations, and vine-by-vine management systems. Their gravity-flow winery design at Antinori nel Chianti Classico minimizes mechanical intervention in the winemaking process.
Environmental sustainability forms a core component of Antinori's long-term strategy. The company has implemented water conservation systems, solar energy production, and reduced chemical interventions in the vineyards. Their Antinori nel Chianti Classico facility was designed with environmental considerations, including a living roof covered with vineyards that provides natural insulation and integrates the structure into the landscape. Several of their estates, including Castello della Sala, have achieved organic certification, with vineyar
Philosophy & Practice
Antinori's winemaking philosophy balances respect for tradition with technological innovation. The family summarizes this approach with their motto: "Ancient roots play an important role in our philosophy, but they have never held back our spirit of innovation." This principle manifests in their winemaking practices, where traditional techniques coexist with modern methods tailored to each estate's specific conditions.
At Tignanello, grapes undergo careful selection both before and after destemming, followed by gentle crushing. Fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks, with maceration periods varying by vintage conditions. The wines age primarily in French and Hungarian oak barrels, with specific protocols for each wine: Tignanello typically spends 12-14 months in a combination of new and one-year-old French and Hungarian oak barriques, followed by a minimum of 12 months in bottle before release.
The company has invested significantly in research and development, implementing precision viticulture techniques that include detailed soil mapping, weather monitoring stations, and vine-by-vine management systems. Their gravity-flow winery design at Antinori nel Chianti Classico minimizes mechanical intervention in the winemaking process.
Environmental sustainability forms a core component of Antinori's long-term strategy. The company has implemented water conservation systems, solar energy production, and reduced chemical interventions in the vineyards. Their Antinori nel Chianti Classico facility was designed with environmental considerations, including a living roof covered with vineyards that provides natural insulation and integrates the structure into the landscape. Several of their estates, including Castello della Sala, have achieved organic certification, with vineyar