Marchesi Antinori: beauty, art, respect for the environment and functionality in the Chianti Classico area

An “invisible” wine cathedral of 45 thousand square meters, for the most part underground, dug up to 15 meters into the side of the hill.

An admirable architecture set in the Chianti hills of Bargino, in San Casciano in Val di pesa, in the Chianti Classico area. The architectural lines are sinuous, circular: a labyrinth of volumes and vaults. But also windows that reflect the typical vegetation of the Chianti countryside. The building, built with materials such as terracotta, wood and corten steel, recalls the deep bond with the earth. The same warm colors refer to the land surrounding the structure, in which vines are rooted for a few hectares. One of the surprises is above! The majestic spiral staircase, now the symbol of the cellar (100 tons in weight) connects the three floors of the structure. You will go up looking at the sky from a porthole that peeks out from above, but also observing the harmonious panorama from the side slits.

Arriving at the roof, you will be amazed: the vineyards are everywhere, perfect integration with the surrounding landscape. In the background, the olive trees and the hill with its dense forests of oaks and holm oaks. After the visit, you can eat here, at the Rinuccio 1180 restaurant, in homage to the founder of the Antinori family. The summer patio and the large windows that surround the room allow you to immerse yourself in the Tuscan scenery in any season.

It took seven years to complete this tribute from the Antinori family to the land of Chianti Classico. The work, signed by the architect Marco Casamonti, was inaugurated in 2012, respecting the instructions of the noble family that for six centuries has dedicated itself with love, passion and humility to the production of wine. Piero Antinori honorary president of the company, now headed by the twenty-sixth generation with Albiera Antinori, CEO, and the contribution of his sisters Allegra and Alessia, has always had clear ideas. He wanted the surrounding environment to be respected and local materials used, that the structure be open to visitors, precisely to make people understand how the art of winemaking works and, essential, it had to be functional both for the cellar, so that it also allowed to take advantage of gravity and both for offices, since all the administrative, production and management parts have found a home here.

Here you can “breathe” the wine: suspended bridges allow you to closely watch the stages of production, overlooking the fermentation vats. In the barrel room, between soft lights and terracotta walls, where the wine is refined by exploiting the underground dimension and without refrigeration systems, two tasting rooms have been created suspended above the barrels and in transparent glass.

The Antinori are art collectors, with the cult of beauty. Even their sixteenth-century coat of arms came out of the renowned Florentine workshop of the Della Robbia.

The Antinori Academy, dedicated to classical art, has made it possible to bring here some jewels from the family collection, collected in a museum of paintings, ceramics, precious fabrics and ancient manuscripts. The sixteenth-century press built according to the dictates of Leonardo da Vinci is imposing. With the start of the new house, the first project for contemporary art, Antinori Art Project, also began. Thus, during the visit, you can admire the three biospheres by Tomàs Saracen, various installations such as Clessidra by Giorgio Andreotta Calò, Portal del Angel by the sculptor Jorge Peris and others. In the room dedicated to the aging of Vin Santo we find Altorilievo by Stefano Arienti.

To close the circle of this exciting construction, a wine shop could not be missing, with a wide selection of labels from the Antinori estates, both Italian and foreign, also to be tasted by the glass; a bookshop and a shop of flavors.