The Wines of Antinori

MARCHESI ANTINORI HISTORY

Twenty-six generations of the Marchesi Antinori family -- one of less than a handful of families to produce and market wine uninterruptedly for six centuries -- have produced remarkable wines since 1385. The family's unique amalgam of centuries' old Tuscan and Umbrian tradition with modern innovation has made Antinori the premier wine-producing family of Italy for over 600 years.

If one could sum up Antinori's philosophy in a sentence it would be, according to Marchese Piero Antinori, president of Antinori, "Age-old roots play an important role in our philosophy, but they have not served to inhibit our innovative spirit."

In fact, Antinori continually experiments in its vineyards and at its wineries, with clonal selection of indigenous and international grape varieties, cultivation, vineyard altitudes, fermentation methods and temperatures, traditional and modern vinification techniques, wood barrel types, sizes and ages, and varying lengths of bottle age.

Quoting from Civilta' del Bere, Italy's wine magazine, "Antinori arrives first, paves new roads, not only facing the risks of the unknown but opening up spaces and opportunities for others to follow." Says Antinori, "We have proven over the years that in the Tuscany and Umbria that there was the possibility of producing internationally acclaimed quality wines which showed elegance and finesse, while still keeping the native character."

Looking ahead through the 1990's and the second millennium, Antinori says, "Our library has many titles, but for us it isn't rich enough. We have a mission which is not yet totally accomplished. It pushes us to express the vast potential of our vineyards and to reconcile the new that remains to be discovered with the patrimony of Tuscan taste -- including tradition, culture, agriculture, the artistic and the literary -- which in fact represent the Antinori identity. One of the major forces of this identity is that of being Tuscan, our 'Tuscaninity 'if you will."

In 1994, to reflect its continuing innovation and evolution, Marchesi Antinori streamlined its Della Robbia coat-of-arms, modernizing the crown and diamonds while adding a forward-facing "A" and 26 generazioni (generations), to reflect the family's winemaking heritage.