Lamberto Frescobaldi On Acquisitions, Tariffs, and Opportunities In The U.S.

Marchesi Frescobaldi, with annual sales of $171 million, of which about 16% comes from the U.S., is one of Italy’s most venerable wine companies. The portfolio spans Tuscan estates such as Castello Pomino, Castello Nipozzano, Tenuta Perano, Tenuta Castiglioni, Tenuta CastelGiocondo, Tenuta Ammiraglia, Remole, Tenuta Calimaia, and Gorgona, along with Ornellaia and Masseto in Bolgheri, Tenuta Luce in Montalcino, and Attems in the Collio DOC (Friuli Venezia Giulia).

The company made its first acquisition outside Italy in 2023, acquiring Oregon’s Domaine Roy & Fils, and earlier this year took a minority stake in the Mount Etna estate Tenute delle Terre Nere in Sicily.

Lamberto Frescobaldi, representing the 30th generation of the family company, tells SND that both moves further its philosophy of investing in quality sites and emphasizing its winegrowing credentials rather than expanding via the negociant model. In Oregon, he says, “there’s somewhat of a different attitude in making the wines a bit more bright. These wines are made with the idea of having a glass of wine with your meal.”

The Domaine Roy portfolio includes Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Rosé bottlings at $44; Yamhill-Carlton Incline Pinot Noir and Chardonnay at $78; Dundee Hills Incline Pinot Noir at $78; and single vineyard labels Iron Filbert Pinot Noir and Chardonnay ($128) and Quartz Acorn Vineyard Pinot Noir and Chardonnay ($151). The winery’s Pinot Noir Dundee Hills Incline 2022 scored 94 points and ranked among Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines of 2024.

From the Italian portfolio, Frescobaldi cites CastelGiocondo Brunello di Montalcino DOCG, Nipozzano Riserva, Chianti Rufina Riserva DOCG, and Le Volte dell’Ornellaia Toscana IGT as doing particularly well in the U.S. lately. The wines grouped under the Frescobaldi brand totaled 65,000 cases in the U.S. last year, according to Impact Databank. They recently moved to the Vintus portfolio in the U.S., joining the company’s luxury tier offerings like Ornellaia and Masseto.

This year, Frescobaldi expanded its Italian footprint further with a minority interest in Sicily’s Tenuta delle Terre Nere, in partnership with the winery’s founder Marco De Grazia. The estate, with more than 120 acres of vineyards planted in Etna’s volcanic soils, has produced more than 120 wines scoring 90 points or higher in Wine Spectator blind tastings. The portfolio is led by Etna Prephylloxera La Vigna di Don Peppino Calderara Sottana Vecchie Vigne (2022, 95 points, $225).

As to further acquisitions, Frescobaldi explains that the company will first focus on integrating its more recent additions. “We just acquired the stake in Tenuta delle Terre Nere this summer,” he notes. “Now is the time to focus on maximizing opportunities across the portfolio in a challenging market.”

The new 15% tariffs on Italian wines in the U.S. are among Frescobaldi’s key concerns. In addition to heading his family company, he serves as president of the Unione Italiana Vini (UIV) trade group. For every dollar’s worth of profit made by an Italian producer on wine imported to the U.S., American businesses make $4.53 due to participation in the category across the three-tier system, he notes.

Italy leads all imported wines in the U.S., with shipments worth €2 billion ($2.37b) annually, accounting for one-quarter of the country’s total exports. Among the wine segments most exposed to the new tariffs are Moscato d’Asti (with 60% of production exported to the U.S.), Pinot Grigio (48%), Chianti Classico (46%), Tuscan reds (35%), Piedmont reds and Brunello di Montalcino (31% each), and Prosecco (27%), as well as Lambrusco and Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. –Daniel Marsteller

Tagged : Domaine Roy & Fils, Frescobaldi, Ornellaia

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