Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1249
L ast year, 26th-generation Alessia Anti- nori was piloting her family's efforts to expand their wine brands in Asia. She visited India repeatedly, staying a month at a time, as she sought to communicate the Antinori message to a nascent wine market. Now, with a new apartment in New York City, the 33-year-old is the de facto Antinori ambassador to the United States. Alessia previously spent time as a winemaker for Antinori, a role she plans on returning to eventually. She pioneered the range of Antinori sparkling wines, Montenisa Fran- ciacorta; she shares the Mon- tenisa label with her two sisters Albiera and Allegra, and the distinct triple-A logo includes each of their names. Now, as the marketing face of the family, travel dominates the time of the youngest heir to the Antinori throne. She splits her time between Rome, New York and her marketing itineraries. With New York as a base, she travels "six months a year to various cities, par- ticipating in tasting events, winemaker dinners and working with Antinori's wine distributors." When THE TASTING PAN- EL caught up with her at the second annual Pebble Beach Food & Wine, Alessia was leading a tasting of Tignanello vintages from the 1990s and 2000s (her favorites were 1990 and 1999). She is clearly enthralled by her family's wines. As she tasted through the wines be- fore her formal talk, she acknowledged that she couldn't spit these wines. She says her father complains she travels too much, but she does it so she can drink back- vintages of Tignanello and Solaia. As one of three daughters, Alessia is the most public face of the Antinori brand, but all three have specifi c roles. With two siblings and a famous father (Marchese Piero Antinori is widely cred- ited for advancing the concept of Super- tuscan wines with his Tignanello and Solaia brands) all actively involved in the business, decision-mak- ing and harmony might seem a daunting task. Unity is "a theme echoed by all four Antinoris," according to Alessia, and they credit it for the fi rm's success. Clearly whatever familial disagreements might arise are kept at home. "We may dis- agree on the little things," Alessia says "but when it comes to what really matters, we work in harmony." Antinori wines are imported by Ste. Michelle Wine Estates. Alessia Antinori loves sharing back vintages of Tignanello with the trade and the public. In the Business by Ben Narasin Alessia Antinori has become the public face of her family's centuries-old wine business Old Wines, New Face Alessia Antinori, de facto Antinori ambassa- dor to the United States. 24 / the tasting panel / june 2009