Villa Antinori leaves Chianti Classico for the greater good

Piero Antinori of the venerable eponymous Tuscan merchant has consistently been in the vanguard of developments in the Italian wine business. (Supertuscans, Maremma, Piemonte, Puglia...) So we have to take note of this latest news from the Florence-based firm, via its British importer.

Extraordinary news from Antinori: as of the 2001 vintage (available at the end of 2003), Villa Antinori will become a Tuscan IGT wine – no longer bearing the Chianti Classico designation – and will be made from a selection of grapes grown exclusively on his own estates in Tuscany.

This important and strategic decision has been taken...