Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/522996
58 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } JUNE/JULY 2015 to compromise and settle on orange." Within a decade of the introduction of the orange label, Piccini became one of the top-noted Chianti producers worldwide. "Orange is a color that trans- mits energy, youth and a positive can-do approach," says Mario. "We've taken that orange and have applied it to everything else we do." Among the Piccini brands being mar- keted by Foley in the United State are Memoro Bianco, Rosato and Rosso; Orange Label Prosecco, Pinot Grigio and Chianti; Chianti Classico and Chianti Classico Riserva; Sasso al Poggio Tuscan blend; and Brunello and Brunello Riserva. Sma Begiings, Great Suees Like many Chianti companies, Tenute Piccini started relatively small. Mario's great-grandparents, Angiolo Piccini, and his wife, Maria Teresa Totti, purchased 17 acres of vines in Poggibonsi in 1882 and began shortly thereafter producing Chianti in the traditional squat, straw-covered bottles called fiaschi. As the business grew, more land was purchased and vines planted. In 1925, Mario's grandfather—also named Mario—took over the business and saw it through the Depression years as well as through World War II. It was the senior Mario who began selling Piccini Chianti on the export market to Germany and Switzerland, which are both still two big consumers of the Piccini wines. He also came up with the branding strategy of call- ing the wine Chianti "Il Preferito"—"the preferred" Chianti. By the time Mario Piccini the elder died in 1963, Tenute Piccini had grown from 17 to 400 acres of vines. Mario's father, Pierangelo Piccini, and his mother, Marcella Sanmicheli, who has served as President of the family-owned firm for the last years of the 20th century and into the 21st, enlarged the company portfolio significantly. After his father died in 2004, Mario was determined to make Piccini into an Italian, not just Tuscan, wine producer. He was also determined never to let one market or one brand of products become disproportionally large compared with the others. As a result, the Italian market itself Piccini, located in Castellina in Chianti, is the base brand that represents the foundation of the company that was started in 1882. It is 100 percent family-owned and has been passed down to four generations of the Piccini family. Fattoria di Valiano, named after the Latin term for "valor," is located in Castelnuovo Berardenga on the southern side of the Chianti Classico area, minutes away from Siena. It includes 570 acres of land, of which 170 acres are planted to Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot, and is dedicated to premium Chianti Classico wines. Villa al Cortile is located in the heart of the prestigious Brunello di Montalcino zone and is one of the largest estates located there, with 20 acres of vineyards dedicated to the production of Brunello di Montalcino DOCG and its Riserva. Tenuta Moraia was purchased in 2000 and is located in the Maremma region of coastal Tuscany, today considered Italy's newest wine frontier. Maremma has the distinction of being known as the home of the most notable Super Tuscan red wines, as well as being the prime white wine region of Tuscany. Tenuta Moraia has 320 acres of land of which 75 acres are planted to Sangiovese Grosso, Merlot, Vermentino, Chardonnay and Sauvignon. Regio Cantina, located in the heart of Basilicata among the volcanic hills of Monte Vulture, is Piccini's first venture outside of Tuscany. It consists of 37 acres of vineyards dedicated to production of Aglianico del Vulture DOC. PHOTO COURTESY OF TENUTE PICCINI PHOTO COURTESY OF TENUTE PICCINI PHOTO COURTESY OF TENUTE PICCINI PHOTO COURTESY OF TENUTE PICCINI THE ESTATES { cover story }