Four generations of Piccinis in Italy’s Chianti region

CASTELLINA in Chianti, Tuscany, Italy — Castellina is the hilly heart of the Chianti wine region of central Tuscany.  Yes, this is the source of Chianti, the world-famous wine.  These used to be in straw-wrapped round bottles, but are now in regular bottles.  This I discovered in a dinner hosted by Tita Trillo to introduce the elegant Marcella Piccini and daughter, super saleswoman Martina with their prize winning wine in Mi Piace, Manila Peninsula last February.

Martina acted as the wine master matching the special Piccini wines with Chef Massimo Veronesi’s menu:  Frascati Superiore with truffle-crusted scallops; Chianti Riserva with mixed green raviolo and braised short ribs; Brunello di Montalcino with lamb-loin and crispy polenta.  For pre-dinner cocktails was Bella Mia, a light wine blend Tita put together with the Piccini viniculture experts to match the special Filipino taste.  It carries Tita’s exotic face on the label.

During a weekend break from the UNESCO Executive Board spring session last April, I took the Paris-Florence flight with Dr. Vilma Labrador, DepEd Undersecretary and UNESCO Education Chairperson, to enjoy the hospitality of the Piccini family.  An hour drive from Firenze (Florence), the Piccini driver brought us to the largest of six villas built specially for travelers who prefer country surroundings to hotel stay so they can combine wine-tasting tour and cultural visits to nearby Florence, Siena and Pisa.

Italian vineyard depended on tenancy as in the Philippines

Martina Piccini was waiting to take us to lunch in the family estate house, formerly owned by Prime Minister Aldo Moro.

Tuscany ranks alongside Piedmont (northern Italy) as the most famous winegrowing region in Italy.  Wines with names such as Chianti, Brunello, Nobile di Montepulciano, Vernaccia di San Gimignano, Galestro, or Sassicaia are famous throughout the world. 

The history of Tuscan winegrowing has always been determined by the interplay of major landowners – especially the clergy and the nobility – and the mezzadri or sharecroppers (tenant farmers) who are allowed to live on the land and cultivate it in return for half the crop.  (In the Philippines, the rice landlord-tenant share was 60-40.)

When the big estates were broken up after World War II, many of the mezzadri migrated to the towns.  These neglected properties were acquired by businessmen and migrants from the rich cities of northern Italy.  They were obliged to rely on the help of learned oenologists, to meet the more exacting standards of wine connoisseurs all over the world.

The first generation of Piccini wines: Angiolo and Maria Teresa

The beginnings of the Piccini wine were modest with the purchase of seven hectares of vineyards by Angiolo Piccini in 1882.  His pride was Chianti Piccini, made from Sangiovese grapes.  By 1920, he owned 50 hectares starting the saga of one of the most successful family business in Tuscany. 

His wife, Maria Teresa’s legacy is the heritage villa of Il Palazzo Piccini, which was erected near the original headquarters of Piccini Winery in Poggibonsi.

Second Generation:  Mario Piccini joins the ‘national self-sufficiency strategy’

In 1925, Mario Piccini, Angiolo’s son, took the lead of the family business.  Mario had great difficulty in 1926, when the lira was suddenly devalued for political reasons, and during the 1929 Great Depression, when the deflationary process accentuated.  However, in 1935-36, Italy followed a national self-sufficiency strategy. Imports were replaced by native products and a door to export local products was finally opened. Mario seized this opportunity to get the Piccini wines on the international market.

Mario developed Chianti Piccini Il Preferito (the ‘favored’ Chianti).  This was the beginning of brand evolution of Piccini wines.  “Esportazione mondiale” started with the shipment to Germany and Switzerland. In 1963, when Mario Piccini died, Casa Vinicola Piccini owned 150 hectares of vineyards of Sangiovese, Cabernet and Merlot vines in Tuscany.

Third Generation: Pierangelo and Marcella

In 1963, the family business passed to the third generation, Pierangelo Piccini, and his wife, Marcella, presently the President of the Piccini Group. Under Pierangelo’s management, Chianti wines were distributed even to France and Austria. 

Mario was already assisting his father, Pierangiolo at the age of 20.  That was in 1982, marking the century of the saga of the Piccini family. 

As the world showed more interest in Italian wines, Chianti became the most popular Italian wine worldwide and was referred to as “Super Tuscan”.  Pierangiolo focused on implementing a new concept: winemaking as an art. His plan began with the acquisition of the most prestigious estate in Chianti Classico, Fattoria di Valiano in May 1995.

Fourth Generation: Mario and Martina

In 1990, Mario was joined by his sister, Martina Piccini.  Their unique temperaments blended well like good wine, while Mario took charge of general management, Martina’s flair and enthusiasm escalated the marketing program.  By 2007, the Piccini Group became the 28th Wine Company in Italy out of 800,000 wine producers. (Source:  Il Mondo Corriere della Sera).

The wine production of the 400-hectare estates in Valiano, Tenuta Moraia, Piccini, and Montalcino makes Piccini one of the biggest players in Tuscany.  Its Chianti production represents between 10-12 percent of the entire Chianti production in Italy. 

I had lunch with Titania Wine Cellar President Tita Trillo yesterday and she said that “…85 percent of all the wines produced and bottled by Piccini are now reaching 70 countries.  Only 15 percent goes to their domestic market.” A franchise holder not only of Piccini wines, but also wines from Chile, Spain and France, Tita added that Piccini wines are the best seller in her business that she has to order by container vans.

Super Tuscan

The Sangiovese grape variety is suited to the hilly terraced landscape of Tuscany.  This variety is not only responsible for the famous Brunello di Montalcino wine, but also as one of the blend of grapes used to make Chianti.  Following a change in the law in the ’90s, Sangiovese may now be pressed exclusively guaranteeing the quality of Nobile di Montepulciano and Morellino di Scansano of Carmignano.  Among the other red grape varieties, which continue to deliver outstanding results here, include the French provenance – Cavernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz, and Pinot Noir. 

Chianti, one of the oldest quality wines that Italy produces, by far outstrips Asti, Soave, Prosecco, or Valpolicella, with almost 26.42 million gallons bottled and exported all over the world.  Modern, well-made Chianti Classico is characterized by the marriage of great finesse and elegance with gold strength and aging properties.  Meantime, Chianti Rufina has a more pronounced acidity than the Classico, but they have better aging properties.

Baron Ricasoli developed his recipe for Chianti at Castello di Brolio over 150 years ago.  However, Ricasoli’s recipe has become obsolete in the past 30 years due to the winegrowing revolution.  Talented winemakers, like the Piccinis, have managed to crystallize all the desired properties from the Sangiovese grapes, substituting small quantities of finer, imported varieties, such as Cabernet, Shiraz or Merlot.

Italy’s heritage sites surround the Chianti region

The people of Tuscany are fiercely proud of their ancestry.  And, they have reason to be.  The four generations of the Piccini family have imbibed this. 

Tuscan history was dominated by clashes between the feudal lords led by Florence fighting against rival cities of Arezzo, Pistoria, Volterra and Siena in the 13th century.  The struggle continued with the powerful artisan guilds.  During this period, referred to by Italians as the Rinascimento (Renaissance), Florence became the most important center in culture, wool and silk industries, as well as banking in Italy.  Led by the Medici family, rivalry in great architecture, works of art, literature, and festival flourished in Siena, Pisa, Arezzo, and San Gimignano.

Just as it was a fashion for the 18th century European aristocrats to visit these heritage sites and the surrounding wine region, so is it a tourist highlight to visit this splendor of Tuscany.

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