Antinori - A family business for 633 years

The Antinori family has been committed to the art of winemaking for over six centuries since 1385 when Giovanni di Piero Antinori became a member, of the “Arte Fiorentina dei Vinattieri”, the Florentine Winemakers’ Guild.

Some words of wisdom from Albiera Antinori, now the head of the famous Antinori family wine business, in an interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel.

• Wine has gone from being a source of nourishment to a source of pleasure. In the past, farmers in the fields always had a bottle of wine with them for lunch, that helped keep them going. Fifty years ago, wine was a natural part of Italian food. But who drinks wine for lunch today? We all pay such close attention to our caloric intake.
• Individually, the more expensive wines are of course more profitable. But the truth is: In order to produce top wines, you also need wines that can be brought to market faster and for which you can use the grapes that are not suitable for the top wines but still make great wines. If you ask me, of course I would rather produce more great wines. But there is nothing shameful of producing wines like Santa Cristina for 7 euros a bottle.
• the French have always been very good at marketing. In Italy, the wines get a little more expensive every year, but there are no such price swings. And that's a good thing: Italian wines are drunk, not collected, which is healthy. Otherwise, the same bottles wander around the world and nobody enjoys them.