Wine Spectator: Straight Talk With Piero Antinori
October 19, 2020Piero Antinori led Italy’s Marchesi Antinori—a 26-generation family business—for more than a half-century. Across his illustrious career, he’s been instrumental in raising the bar for not only Tuscan wines, but for Italian wines in general. Antinori helped create the super Tuscan category with the first releases of non-traditional red blends Tignanello and Solaia, and branched out beyond Italy with wine projects from Chile to Napa Valley. He received Wine Spectator’s Distinguished Service Award in 1999. Antinori recently spoke with Wine Spectator senior editor Bruce Sanderson on Instagram Live series Straight Talk with Wine Spectator.
Among the seminal moments of his career, Antinori recalls the daunting circumstances around his first vintage. Following his father’s retirement, friends, colleagues, and competitors were skeptical about an inexperienced 28-year-old taking over the business, but Antinori’s first go surprised many. “The quality of that wine turned out to be one of the best of that period,” Antinori said. “That gave me a lot of confidence, enthusiasm and courage in myself, and helped me in my future activities.”
Not long after, Antinori helped author a momentous shift in the focus of Italian winemaking from quantity to quality. At the time the company was primarily known for sourcing grapes for various blends they produced. But Antinori saw an opportunity for change, blending the local Sangiovese grape with Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, resulting in super Tuscan pioneers Tignanello and Solaia. Nearly three decades later, the 1997 Solaia took the No. 1 spot in Wine Spectator’s Top 100 wines of 2000. Antinori sees the quality revolution and creation of the super Tuscans as nothing short of “the renaissance of Tuscan wine.”
Another crucial period was in the mid-1980s, when Antinori realized that all three of his daughters were determined to join the family business. At the time, it was unusual for women to work in the Italian wine industry, but it made Antinori happy, ushering in a new generation of family ownership and continuity for the centuries-old company. Today his daughters and CEO/chief winemaker Renzo Cotarella are taking further control of the show. Antinori’s eldest daughter, Albiera, is president of the company, the first woman to hold the top job.
One thing Antinori believes Tuscany can do better in the future is improving consumers’ perception of Chianti Classico. “I’m personally very keen on Chianti Classico because my family began producing wine 600 years ago in that region,” he explains. “Many consumers don’t have a clear idea of what it is, because it can be confused with the generic Chianti. They are two different wines, two separate appellations. We should make consumers more aware of the difference. Chianti Classico is at the same time simple and great, like the architecture of the Renaissance or the music of Mozart, and able to arrive directly at your heart and give you great emotion.”
Tune in to Wine Spectator’s Instagram Live channel for Straight Talk every Tuesday and Thursday at 7pm. Tomorrow night’s guest will be Napa winemaker Andy Erickson, who consults for top-flight Cabernet producers including Mayacamas, Dalla Valle, and To Kalon Vineyard Company, in conversation with senior editor James Molesworth. On October 22, executive editor Thomas Matthews will speak with Chilean wine pioneer Aurelio Montes. In 1988, Montes started his Chilean winery from scratch with three partners, including the late Douglas Murray. Since then, the peripatetic vintner has expanded to Argentina and California with his Kaiken and Napa Angel labels respectively.—Daniel Marsteller & Shawn Zylberberg
Subscribe to Shanken News Daily’s Email Newsletter, delivered to your inbox each morning.Tagged : Antinori, Wine Spectator
