Rinuccio di Antinoro is recorded as making wine at the Castello di Combiate near the
Tuscan town of
Calenzano in 1180. The castello was destroyed in 1202, and the family moved to
Florence, where they were involved in
silk weaving and banking. In 1385, Giovanni di Piero Antinori joined the Guild of Winemakers, and this is the date usually taken as the start of the wine business. The fame of their wine expanded over the years, to the extent that in 1506 they could afford to pay 4,000
florins for the
Palazzo Antinori, built for the Boni family in the 1460s. At this time, Alessandro Antinori was one of the richest men in Florence, but like many Florentines he was soon bankrupted by the ravages of
Emperor Charles V and the economic effect of his New World gold. Nonetheless the family prospered in the ensuing peace and gained the title of Marquis from the
House of Habsburg-Lorraine in the 18th century. In the second half of the 16th century, Bernardino Antinori had a relationship with
Dianora di Toledo, wife of
Pietro de' Medici the son of
Cosimo I. Pietro, who was known at the time for his brutality and dishonesty, discovered the relationship, accused his wife of
adultery and strangled her with a dog leash in July 1576 at the
Villa Medici at Cafaggiolo. Bernardino was arrested and later killed in prison. Cosimo I exiled his son Pietro to Spain. In 1900, Piero Antinori bought several vineyards in the
Chianti Classico region, including 47 hectares at Tignanello. His son Niccolò scandalised Tuscany in 1924 by making a Chianti containing
Bordeaux wine varieties. He continued to experiment over the following years with new blends, types of barrel, temperature control and bottle
ageing. Niccolò retired in 1966, to be replaced by his son Piero who was even more innovative. He investigated early harvesting of white grapes, different types of
barrique, stainless steel vats and
malolactic fermentation of
red wines. The real revolution came in 1974 with the launch of Tignanello's first vintage, 1971: a barrique-aged wine from the vineyard bearing the same name containing
Cabernet Sauvignon and
Cabernet Franc. Although the initial blend did not yet contain any Cabernet Sauvignon or Cabernet Franc, no white grape varieties were used, which meant that the wine was ineligible for the Chianti Classico appellation; from the vintage 1975 onwards, the blend contained Cabernet Sauvignon. Technically Tignanello was not the first 'Super Tuscan' – that honour goes to
Sassicaia, created by a relative of the Antinoris, the Marquis Mario Incisa della Rocchetta – even though the Antinoris were experimenting with Cabernet blends since the 1920s. But it was Tignanello that really shook up the Italian wine industry, leading to far-reaching changes in rules and attitudes. Although the Chianti Classico
DOCG rules have changed to accommodate wines such as Tignanello, the Antinoris continue to sell it as a Toscana
IGT wine. Emboldened by the success of the 20% Bordeaux blend Tignanello, in 1978 Antinori launched Solaia - containing 80% Cabernet Sauvignon - from the neighbouring vineyard. Antinori responded to the inflation of the 1980s and 1990s with a frantic programme of investment in wineries and vineyards, most notably the Atlas Peak winery in California in 1985, and 325 hectares around Badia a Passignano in 1987. They also expanded into
Piedmont and
Apulia, and set up
joint ventures in Bátaapáti, Hungary,
Stag's Leap and
Col Solare in the USA, Malta, Romania, and Chile. Antinori took complete ownership of
Stag's Leap Wine Cellars in 2023 and Col Solare in 2024. ==Vineyards and wines==