Featured Winery - Anitori

Antinori, is a family-owned Italian wine company that is synonymous with Tuscany. Anitori can trace its winemaking heritage to at least 1385, when Giovanni di Piero Antinori joined the Florentine Vintners Guild. Compare that to the Rothschilds in Bordeaux, starting in 1853, or the Mondavis in Napa Valley, starting in 1936.

Antinori was instrumental in developing wine category known as Super Tuscans (with the famous Tignanello), in using French grape varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay to show how good the Italian vineyards are compared to the rest of the world's, Anitori has also helped to improve the traditional wines of the Chianti Classico region based on the Sangiovese grape.

Antinori has expanded way beyond Tuscany, making new wines in the Italian regions of Piedmont , Umbria and Puglia, plus joint ventures in Napa Valley, Washington and Hungary.

Albiera Antinori is the firm's director of sales, marketing and communications. She says one of Antinori's latest innovations is a white wine made from one of Italy's oldest grape varieties. Vermentino is one of Italy's most underappreciated wines in America. It is a totally unique variety grown only in our area, and is very fruity and round and rich with a tremendous backbone and structure.

While Antinori is an Italian company, Albiera has no problem recommending her wines with other cuisines. She says, "Chianti Classicos such as our Villa Antinori or Peppoli go beautifully with beef Burgundy and, among whites, our Campogrande Orvieto Classico is great with Chinese, seafood and fish dishes".

Antinori's Tignanello and Solaia wines often win the highest marks from wine critics. The 1997 Solaia, for example, was named the Wine of the Year by Wine Spectator magazine in 2000.

Try this wonderful Chianti, from Antinori Winery. Click Here!