Antinori masterclass: Super Tuscans from 1999 to 2013

Allegra Antinori hosted a masterclass of the historic wine group’s Super Tuscan wines at the recent Decanter Shanghai Fine Wine Encounter.

Below, find out more about this 26th-generation co-owner of the family wine group, and read in-depth tasting notes on three vintages each of Solaia and Tignanello, plus Bolgheri Superiore wine Guado al Tasso.

Interview with Allegra Antinori

Jane Anson: What are your first memories of wine?

Allegra Antinori: With my sisters, working alongside our father, making our own barrels of wine and getting our hands and feet in the grapes.Our father always had a vision for what our wines could be, and was anti-establishment even while being the 25^th generation of our family. We always travelled with him, and the best thing he taught us was to learn simply through being curious.

JA: How do you feel being the 26th generation of a family that first began making wine in 1385? Is there a lot of pressure to carry on the tradition?

AA: I feel very old, and very young. We are the 10^th oldest family business in the world, and there is of course a responsibility to hand it down to the next generation, but also to stay close to nature and to remember that, above all, this is an agricultural business that comes from the land.

We are part of a group of companies that are more than 100 years old, and [we] learn lessons from each other.

JA: What do you like to do to relax?

AA: I love skiing, tennis and horse riding, but we are Italian, so food is always important. In my free time I like to have people come to eat at my home, to sit around a big table and cook lots of great home-made food, [such as] tonnes of grilled seasonal vegetables, maybe wild boar [or] whatever is locally available. [It’s about] good quality, yet simple and delicious, with lots of great wine, of course.

JA: You have 16 restaurants that you oversee. What do you look for in a great place to eat?

AA: I love the theatre of going out to eat at restaurants, but look for places that feel good. I will be spending tonight in Shanghai trying out the new places here – it’s one of my favourite things to do whenever I go to a new city.

JA: What music do you listen to at home?

AA: I love Clarence Bekker, a Dutch musician who is one of the world’s great soul and jazz singers. 

See Jane Anson’s tasting notes from the Antinori masterclass

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