By Silvia Davi

Anytime I am in Italy I indulge in the local wines given its rich and diverse wine culture dating back to the Roman times. It is hard not to think of wine when reflecting on the Italian way of life and its vast diversity of wines and spirits so prominent throughout its 20 regions. In fact, in 2024, Italy was the world’s top wine producer and its growth globally can be attributed to its focus on quality and family traditions.

During a recent trip to Florence, the heart of the Renaissance, I set-out to explore a local renown wine brand, Frescobaldi, with a rich local family history, over 150 different wines, and a growth story that goes beyond wine to their estates and restaurants around the world. I was thrilled to speak with Frescobaldi Group President, Tiziana Frescobaldi during my time in Florence in November. Explore my Renaissance Minds Q&A below with the leader of this wonderful wine brand that continues to thrive for over 700 years spanning 30 generations of Frescoldi Family members.

1. Frescobaldi Toscana has a long history in Florence that dates back to the Renaissance, can you explain its origins?

The Frescobaldi Family is an ancient Florentine family. In our historical Archives there are documents going back to the origins and to their first settling in Val di Pesa. Our family still owns a property there, the Estate of Castiglioni. In the XII Century they moved to the City of Florence and settled along the south bank of the river Arno. At the time their main business was trading and finance, at the time when the Florin was the main currency in Europe at that time, the equivalent of the Dollar or the Euro. Later, they became powerful and their branches of activities spread in the whole of Europe. They lent money to most of the Royal courts in Europe, among which the king of England.

2. As a family-owned wine business in the heart of Florence, what differentiates the Frescobaldi brand from others in the business?

The Frescobaldi family has been producing wine for over 700 years. The Frescobaldi wines and Estates have been able to survive over the Centuries always changing and innovating, and at the same time they have been very loyal to their tradition and culture. The Frescobaldi’s were also very interested in the Arts and they supported many artists in the Renaissance time and after.

3. Tell us about your wines and your overall business.

Nowadays our business is changing as it has always done in the past. Even then we had to face various challenges. Now the Company is well positioned in many markets, in over 100 countries in the world. Each estate and each wine, from Castello Nipozzano to CastelGiocondo and so on, in the 9 of the Frescobaldi Estates in Tuscany we managed to keep the uniqueness and identity, given by the different terroirs. Our work is to understand and interpret this element, which is of key importance in winemaking.  Through 30 generations my family has managed to strengthen its roots by having a vision of the future and at the same time by respecting each other in every important decision taken for in the interest of the Company. We need to share the decision-making process, even though it might take a bit of time it is very important to do so. 

4. Frescobaldi distributes its wines globally and continues to grow. Describe your mission and customers.

We somehow feel that we have taken the right decision at the right time. We have had very good opportunities over the last decades that we were able to capture. Now, as we might need to go again through some hard times, as the political and economic scenario appears quite difficult now, so we need to concentrate on consolidating our recent growth. Our mission is therefore to offer our customers wines that can satisfy their expectancies and desires and that well represent our territories in Tuscany, to reflect our style the best we can.

5. In the heart of Florence there is the Ristorante Frescobaldi and Frescobaldi Wine Bar, tell us about the food part of your business. 

The Frescobaldi Restaurant is in the heart of Florence since over a couple of decades. We also have a Frescobaldi Restaurant in London, near Regent Street. Having a Restaurant gives us the opportunity to better understand what our clients like and expect to find in their glasses. The quality of the food needs to be at high level in order to pair with our wines, we try to make the best selection we can, to find the right ingredients. Of course, this in a long and never-ending research.

6. Do you have other locations in Italy or outside of Italy? 

We have a Restaurant in London and one in Zurich, we also have restaurants in some of our Estates in Tuscany, near the Castello Nipozzano and at the Estate of Perano.