The Contini Bonacossi family bought Capezzana in 1926. Alessandro Contini Bonacossi, an antiques dealer, and his wife Vittoria built one of the largest private art collections of their day. Their children gave 144 of those works to the Italian state in 1969. Since 2018 they are on show in the Uffizi in Florence, among them a Bernini sculpture and paintings by Bellini, Andrea del Sarto, Veronese, Velasquez, Goya and El Greco. The estate itself is far older. The land was farmed by the Etruscans, and a document from the year 804 already records vines and olives here.
Augusto Alessandro, the founder's son, built a new cellar in 1938. In 1947 his eldest son Ugo came home from the war with a degree in agriculture and joined him. Ugo turned Capezzana from a sharecropping farm into a modern estate and took charge in the late 1960s. He brought his own children in, Vittorio first, then Beatrice, Filippo and Benedetta, and Vittorio began the move to organic farming in the 2000s. Beatrice, Filippo and Benedetta run the estate today with the next generation, Ettore, Gaddo and Serena. Countess Lisa Contini Bonacossi opened a cooking school for guests in the 1980s, and chef Patrizio, with the family for more than 29 years, still teaches it. Her rose garden behind the villa is the first stop on the guided visits.
The vineyards went organic step by step from 2009, and the estate now holds a Bioagricert certificate. Legumes are sown between the rows to feed the soil. Light tractors keep it from packing down, and pests are left to their natural enemies. The wines are made in the historic cellars, which hold barrels, amphorae and old vintages behind iron gates.
Villa di Capezzana is the flagship: a Carmignano DOCG of 80% Sangiovese and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, made since 1925. Every year 3,000 bottles of it are put aside for ten years and sold as the 10 Anni. Trefiano, the estate's Riserva, dates from 1979 at Vittorio's wish and comes from two century-old vineyards on clay shale. Ghiaie della Furba blends Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and a little Syrah. UCB, named after Ugo, is pure Sangiovese from the Viticciana vineyard. Barco Reale, the younger red, takes its name from the Medici hunting reserve once ringed by the Barco Reale wall. The Vin Santo di Carmignano has won the International Wine Challenge's sweet wine trophy and Gambero Rosso's Tre Bicchieri. There are also a Trebbiano, a Chardonnay, the Vin Ruspo rosé, a sparkling rosé, a grappa and the olive oil.
Visits run twice a day, seven days a week, and are booked ahead. The shorter one takes in the rose garden, the cellars and three wines with the oil. The longer one adds the attic where the Vin Santo ages and two more wines. A board of cold cuts and cheeses can be added for EUR 15 a board if booked ahead. Decanter has listed Capezzana among the top ten wineries to visit in Tuscany. On request there are jeep safaris through the vines with a picnic, and vertical tastings of four vintages of Villa di Capezzana or Ghiaie della Furba. Guided e-bike rides cross the Montalbano hills. The cooking class ends with a four-course lunch with the family. La Vinsantaia, the estate wine bar with a kitchen, serves Tuscan dishes with a view over the countryside. The farmhouse has eight double rooms and one single, a pool and a terrace. Villa Nava, with five bedrooms and its own pool, is let whole.
Tuscany
Est. 1926 
6 wines 
Tastings
Tours
Accommodation
Booking required 
