This is the true story of Carpineto Wines, a beloved Tuscan winery which changed the way one of the world’s most famous wines was made and in the process created a global wine icon.
Founded in 1967 in the heart of Tuscany, Carpiento’s founders who came from other parts of Italy, had a dream, they wanted to take the much maligned Chianti Classico wine from being a cheap pour in a straw covered bottle to being a well respected label. They knew that modern winemaking would bring out the region’s true potential and in the process change the reputation of Chianti Classico wines.
Antonio Zaccheo Jr is the son of one of Carpineto Wines’ founders and tells the inside story of how two outsiders upended the Tuscan wine industry with their ideas. As the new kid on the block, Carpineto Wines was the unlikely leader of an Italian wine revolution, but by modernizing the winemaking process in the Chianti region of Tuscany, they changed the way the world viewed Chianti Classico wines.
In the 1960’s and 70’s Chianti Classcio had the nickname of “fiasco” as the wines were typically cheap, poorly produced and sold in a novelty teardrop shaped bottle covered in straw. It was a gimmicky wine produced in some of Tuscany’s most fertile wine regions. Carpineto changed that by adding new technology and contemporary winemaking techniques. Today Chianti Classico wines are known for their ruby red color, floral notes and balanced tannins. They’re a global favorite thanks to the vision and hard work of two unlikely wine pioneers.