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It was Alessia Antinori’s first business trip to the US and she was thoroughly enjoying the experience. That evening’s engagement was a gala dinner in Chicago, where her family’s iconic wines had pride of place on the menu. The 18-year-old listened proudly from her table as her father Piero gave the eight hundred guests a brief account of the family’s illustrious heritage, beginning with Giovanni di Piero Antinori’s admission to Florence’s Guild of Winemakers in 1385.
As he concluded his remarks, Piero’s smile broadened.
“And now,” he said with a twinkle in his eye, “my daughter Alessia will kindly talk you through the wines that you are about to enjoy.”
The young woman sat up with a jolt. Her father had said nothing to her beforehand about speaking in front of all these people. As far as she had been concerned, tonight would merely involve mingling and informally promoting Marchesi Antinori wines to individual guests. Taking a deep breath, she stood up and made her way to the dais.
As Alessia began to speak, any nervousness quickly dissipated. Within a couple of minutes, she had transported her audience from the Windy City to the sun-drenched Tuscan countryside. From early childhood, she’d walked the vineyards whose produce her audience were swirling gently around their glasses. The joy of bountiful harvests provided some of her fondest memories, while the language of wine and viticulture were second nature to her.
“Although I was completely unprepared to speak on that evening, my words were really well received,” recalls Alessia. “It was a beautiful experience. My father is like that. He has always thrown us in at the deep end.”
While it had been a sink-or-swim moment for Alessia, Piero had never doubted the outcome. His three daughters’ upbringing had been steeped in the tradition and love of the family’s wines. Some years earlier, he had been on a trip with eldest daughter Albiera to visit importers in Canada. Suddenly called home on an urgent matter, he left her to fulfill their busy schedule of wine dinners, tastings and meetings. Still only 18 years old, Albiera excelled herself in her unexpected duties.
Despite their natural flair for the ancient family trade, it was never preordained that Albiera, Allegra and Alessia would become the twenty-sixth generation of Antinoris to join the business. In the Italy of their early youth, women who worked were outnumbered two-to-one by those who did not. And in viticulture and oenology, women were almost wholly absent.
Piero, however, had already shown himself more than willing to turn tradition on its head. In the 1960s, with Italian wine’s collective reputation suffering amid oversupply, he introduced progressive production techniques at the world’s fifth oldest winemaker, emphasizing quality over quantity. In the following decade, he was at the vanguard of a revolution in Tuscan wine.
To qualify for Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) status – the second highest that Italian wines can achieve – strict criteria must be followed, such as the grape varieties used. Inspired by best practices gleaned during his travels to France, Piero decided to break free from some of the DOC constraints. At the family’s Tignanello vineyard, he decided to plant a few hectares of the Cabernet Sauvignon grape. He also introduced smaller barriques made of new oak in place of the large, old traditional variety in common use. The wine that followed – traditional Sangiovese with Cabernet and, starting from the 1975 vintage, no white grape – was intense ruby in color with rich, dark berry aromas.
Tignanello was completely unconventional.
“Tignanello was completely unconventional, one of the very first of the new ‘Super Tuscan’ category,” says middle sister Allegra. “It was also widely misunderstood, but a few enlightened people including a prominent wine writer and the owner of the oldest enoteca in Florence quickly appreciated what we were doing.”
Having ruptured with tradition, Tignanello’s immediate reward was to be branded a “vino da tavola” (table wine), the lowest classification of all. While a travesty, it was also nothing more than a technicality. Tignanello and Solaia – another Marchesi Antinori Super Tuscan – harvested adoration from connoisseurs and acclaim from wine critics. Two decades later, the classification system would be reconfigured to embrace these and other groundbreaking wines. Today, certain Super Tuscans have earned Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) status, the highest of all.
Innovation – even in the face of traditionalist disapproval – is a quality that has helped the Antinoris survive and thrive as winemakers for six centuries. During that time, they overcame many challenges including political upheaval (most notably when a sixteenth-century forebear was executed by the Grand Duke of Tuscany); economic turbulence (including rampant inflation when the Spanish Empire inundated Europe with New World gold); warfare (such as the aerial bombardment of a Marchesi Antinori estate during World War II); pestilence (Florence’s population was decimated by a 17th century bout of plague); and natural disaster, when the floods of 1966 despoiled their cellars.
As his daughters’ willingness and ability to join the company became apparent, Piero took an enormous step. A decade earlier, a large minority stake in Marchesi Antinori had been sold to a large, publicly traded British operator of pubs, breweries and hotels. However, the two had divergent visions, especially when it came to Piero’s plans to invest in further quality vineyards. Amid Italy’s painful early-1990s recession, the multinational suggested buying the family out. But Piero made a successful counteroffer, borrowing heavily to do so, which required him to post the family’s ancestral palazzo in Florence as collateral.
While intensely risky, his gambit paid off. Restored to full family control, Marchesi Antinori remained on the lookout for vineyards in some of the finest wine-producing regions. By the turn of the millennium, the company was present not only in some of the foremost wine areas of Tuscany and Umbria but also in the regions of Piedmont, Lombardy and Puglia. It had also come by Antinori Napa Valley in the US and Haras de Pirque in Chile.
As a multigenerational family business, having that long-term vision is so important.
“Our father achieved amazing growth,” Allegra reflects. “The new estates and the investments he made to improve them meant that we were able to make wine from our grapes alone, guaranteeing consistency in quality, identity and style. He had a long-term vision right from when he took control from his father at the age of 28. As a multigenerational family business, having that long-term vision is so important. And it is in our DNA to think a long way ahead.”
Over time, Albiera, Allegra and Alessia would become ever more involved in driving Marchesi Antinori’s progress. Perhaps the family’s most striking achievement of recent years is the development of the winery that serves as their headquarters, Antinori nel Chianti Classico, near Florence. The breathtaking contemporary architecture somehow blends perfectly into the rolling rural landscape, a perfect metaphor for the family’s fusion of tradition and innovation.
Carved into the hillside, the winery encompasses vineyards, bottle aging and vinification cellars, barrique vaults, offices, tasting rooms, a shop and a restaurant. Its three levels are joined by a stunning spiral staircase, while the design of the edifice stresses energy conservation, the ideal climate for wine production and aging conditions by wholly natural means. In 2022, the winery won first place in William Reed’s list of the World’s Best Vineyards.
“The project was hugely adventurous, a leap into the future,” recalls Albiera, who succeeded her father as president of Marchesi Antinori in 2016. “It took a long seven years, with many complications along the way. But despite the challenges, our family knew it made sense and we found it easy to discuss among ourselves. I am so happy with how it has turned out. It is a wonderful place for making wine, well organized for our employees and has become an important destination for wine lovers.”
The Antinori nel Chianti Classico winery also features a space with art pieces collected over the years. The family’s patronage of the arts is as long-established as its dedication to wine. The Antinori coat of arms – a crest of gold and azure lozenges – was fashioned in ceramic by the Renaissance sculptor Giovanni Della Robbia at the start of the 15th century. Upon completion of the new winery, a diverse collection of paintings, ceramics and manuscripts were transferred from the Antinori family’s palazzo in Florence to the exhibition space.
“Wine and art are creations of humanity that draw from nature,” says Alessia, the company’s vice president and an avid art collector. “A love of both is symbiotic. My idea with the exhibition area was not only to display historic pieces from our family collection but also to commission new pieces relating to nature and winemaking, created specifically for Antinori nel Chianti Classico winery. For these works, most of the artists have stayed with us for a few weeks to experience our culture. Having grown up around the beauty of Florence, we want to contribute to that beauty via art.”
Atop one of the winery’s courtyards perches a heliostat. The device refracts the sun’s rays onto the ground below, forming a working sundial. The installation – named Sun Clock (Novel) by artist Rosa Barba – was one of the first of the site-specific artworks commissioned by the family. While it draws upon the oldest and most natural form of timekeeping, a computer keeps the mirrors correctly positioned throughout the day – a union of tradition and technology. The family describes the work as “a machine of the imagination… a repository of memories from time and space.”
As well as welcoming wine lovers to Antinori nel Chianti Classico, the family also seeks to bring the delights of Tuscan cuisine to the wider world. Almost seventy years ago, the first Cantinetta Antinori restaurant opened its doors on the ground floor of the family’s historic palazzo in Florence. Over the last three decades, the current generation has helped bring Tuscan gastronomy and wine to select international locations. Zürich, Vienna, Moscow, Monte Carlo and, since September 2023, London play host to a Cantinetta.
“Cantinetta is about having people taste the wines ‘in our home’ alongside our family recipes, getting a genuine taste of Tuscany,” says Allegra, who oversees the restaurant business. “It is a great way of getting directly to the consumer and having the consumer better understand our culture. Our ethos is to remain true to our values and our tradition. Of course, we introduce some contemporary elements every few years, while always retaining the traditional base. The concept is to have individual establishments that deliver the utmost quality. We don’t want to operate a chain; it’s an activity strictly connected to our wines and products from our estates.”
Having blazed a trail for women in their industry, Albiera, Allegra and Alessia no longer find themselves as the odd ones out. Marchesi Antinori itself has played a prominent role in driving change: around a third of its workforce are now women. Alessia describes this advance as “essential,” highlighting the contribution of women to their sales and marketing as well as to winemaking itself. Two of Marchesi Antinori’s principal oenologists are also now female.
“There are many more women in the industry than when I began work in the 1980s,” Albiera reflects. “That said, the pace of change in Italy has been slower than in, say, Anglo-Saxon countries. But I think things will be easier for my daughter’s generation. Women starting out now typically have the same education as men and they are following in the footsteps of other women who have demonstrated that they’re every bit as good as men at doing these jobs.”
Under the twenty-sixth generation’s leadership, the company stands tall as one of Italy’s most renowned wine producers. Present in some of the leading areas for the high-quality wine production, Marchesi Antinori was named The World’s Most Admired Wine Brand by Drinks International in 2023, becoming the first Italian winery ever to earn this accolade.
“My sisters and I have the privilege of building upon the incredible vision and hard work of our father and late grandfather,” says Albiera. “Today, we also have the next generation coming on board, which is vital because this company is as much about family as it is about business.
Since childhood, we were always taught that we have a duty to nurture and improve what we hold today before passing it down to those who come after us.
Albiera, Allegra and Alessia: Our lives
“We grew up near the village of Bolgheri in the Tuscan countryside, where our family has one of our oldest wine estates,” says Allegra Antinori. “We initially went to school nearby, so our upbringing was intimately connected to the countryside. Our lives followed the rhythms of farming. My sisters and I would make a game of picking grapes, crushing them with our feet and bottling the wine. The harvest was such a happy time for us. Getting involved helped us to understand the process and patience required as well as how the artisanal approach, skill and human sensibility is vital to quality.”
“Later on, we attended senior school in Florence,” she continues. “Even then, though, we remained close to wine making. The time we spent with our father was usually related somehow to wine, be it inspecting the cellars or going for wending walks in the countryside around Tenuta Tignanello estate. In our late teens, we each began traveling the world with him to attend tastings and wine dinners or explore new markets and wine territories. That’s how we started to learn about selling and about wine areas other than our own.”
“None of us ever felt any pressure to join the family business,” reflects Albiera. “As the eldest, I came of age at a time when there was little expectation or obligation for women to work in Italy and other southern European countries. I began working at the age of eighteen. I started accompanying our father on business trips. In those days, the worlds of Italian wine and agriculture were almost wholly male and I was one of the only women. Nevertheless, it felt natural for us to work.
“While my elder sisters had gone straight into the business, I went to university,” says Alessia. “I was keen to experience life beyond Florence, so I chose to study viticulture and winemaking at a public university in Milan. There were only twenty-five students on the course, and I was one of just two women. We all lived together for two years in an isolated rural location between Milan and Genova to gain practical experience. The students and faculty were a great group of people.”
My sisters and I have all played an active role in growing the business.
“My sisters and I have all played an active role in growing the business,” says Allegra. “What is more, we did so even when we each had children. This can be the most complicated element for women, juggling the needs of a growing family with the responsibilities of working life. However, we always managed to participate, and we ensured that we all had the necessary flexibility. It always felt very natural.”
“Three members of our next generation are now on board,” says Albiera. “Allegra’s son, an economics graduate, is gaining experience in operational logistics. My daughter, who has a master’s in viticulture and oenology, has already completed a year’s work in viticulture in Napa Valley. She loves nature and is very hands-on with the land. And having worked for three years in Australia for a large French multinational, my son has since looked after our sparkling wine interests. He’s now looking after our Chilean winery, Haras de Pirque. I’d say we’ve got them doing things that are exactly right for their character.”
“My two children are still only eight and twelve,” says Alessia. “But they’ve been with me to harvest in our small winery outside Rome many times. There’s no obligation for them to join when they’re older. However, if they’re interested in joining, they’ll have to show that they deserve it. But I think they are curious, having seen me working so much and going away on business trips. When they were very young, they would come with me to the US for a month at a time.”
“We Antinoris have always had a powerful curiosity and open-mindedness about the outside world,” says Allegra. “Our father goes to the US for two months a year, while I went recently for three weeks to Asia because I want to understand the market there. To understand a place, you must go there. Wine isn’t something you can sell remotely. My sisters and I have always traveled extensively, getting on a plane to discover something new, to meet our clients and to work in the market. I feel like I learn most when I am going somewhere new. I consider travel as my university.”
“I feel very Italian, Tuscan and Florentine,” Albiera comments. “But a genuine Florentine has always been a traveler. For many centuries, Florence has exported its produce, art and thinking. I was fortunate enough to be allowed to travel when I was young, and that continues to this time. Travel is essential as it is the source of understanding and inspiration. Every trip gives me a new idea or experience. So, I am a global citizen, but where I feel most at home is in Florence.”
