Episode 580 Monty Waldin Interviews Pierpaolo Guerra

Pierpaolo Guerra is the Export Manager at Tenuta di Capezzana. In this interview he shares some of the fantastic history and wines this Winery has to offer.

The Family at Tenuta di Capezzana

In the twenties, Count Alessandro Contini Bonacossi with his wife Vittoria bought the property of Capezzana, then enlarged with the purchase by the Marquis Aman Niccolini, of two neighboring farms, “Il Poggetto” and “Trefiano”. Thus was born the Tenuta di Capezzana, divided into 3 farms and more than 120 farms, dedicated to the production of high quality wine and oil. Alessandro's passion for collecting led him to preserve bottles, so that today Capezzana can boast a collection of historic vintages starting from 1925. In 1945, Augusto Alessandro, son of Alessandro, was joined by his son Ugo, a veteran of the war and a graduate in agriculture, which gradually took over the management of the estate, transforming it from a sharecropping management to a modern company. Ugo, a man of other times but with broad views, he exploited the enthusiasm and passion of his children, leaving each of them to run a business. A perfect combination between Ugo's experience and the novelty of the fourth generation. The first of the children to work alongside their father was Vittorio, who at the age of eighteen took charge of the all-round management of the company, eventually becoming the manager of the campaign and the winemaker, devoting himself particularly to the transformation towards organic. Today Capezzana is managed by a collaboration between the fourth and fifth generation. Beatrice is the sales manager, flanked by her sister Benedetta, the winemaker, and her brother Filippo, who is responsible for the production of oil and the financial part. The fifth generation has already begun to follow the family tradition, and today they work in the company Serena, responsible for hospitality,

The History:

In Carmignano the vine was already cultivated in the pre-Roman era, about 3000 years ago, as demonstrated by the wine jars and tasting cups found in the Etruscan tombs. A parchment dated 804 was found in the state archive of Florence: it is a rental contract that documents how olive trees and vines were cultivated in Capezzana 1200 years ago for the production of oil and wine.

In the early Renaissance, a woman, Monna Nera Bonaccorsi, built the first “casa da Signori” and nine farm houses with the relative vine-growing systems; it was 1475. Other generations and families took turns on the property of the estate: the Cantucci, related to the Medici, and the Bourbon del Monte Marquises. In the eighteenth century a married Cantucci Bourbon enlarged the farm and bought new farms; he also introduced an exemplary administrative method, the documents of which are still preserved today in the company's historical archive.

After the Bourbon del Monte, the company passed to the Adimari Morelli and then to the Franchetti Rothschilds and, by the widow Sara de Rothschild, and then to the Contini Bonacossi, our family, in 1920.

Learn more about Tenuta di Capezzana:

Website: www.capezzana.it

Facebook: www.facebook.com/tenutadicapezzana/

Instagram: @tenutadicapezzana

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Until next time, Cin Cin!

FULL: Squeaky Bum Time