Deeply rooted in its home region, Veneto, the Tinazzi family deepened the connection to its history and land with the creation of an eponymous wine estate. For more than five decades, Gian Andrea Tinazzi – now with his two children alongside himself – has been at the helm of a project that has set a new benchmark for wine entrepreneurs in the region.
Southern passion
In 2001, following a trip to Puglia and recognising the untapped potential of the southern Italian region’s terroirs and grapes, Gian Andrea decided to expand the company’s reach to the other end of the boot-shaped country. He acquired ten hectares of vineyards in Alto0 Salento, with the aim of producing quality wines under the Primitivo di Manduria DOC, Primitivo Puglia IGP and Negroamaro IGP stamps.
Two decades on, Tinazzi’s presence in Puglia has itself expanded and evolved. Tinazzi’s southern stronghold now includes two properties: Feudo Croce, an estate in Carosino, in the province of Taranto, with 30 hectares of vineyards; Cantina San Giorgio in Faggiano (also in Taranto), a project fully dedicated to innovation equipped with state of the art vinification and bottling equipment.
The two Puglian estates embody what their parent company stands for: a meeting of tradition and innovation committed to the local land and people. Sustainability – both environmental and social – is also a core pillar of Tinazzi’s strategy, reflected in how each estate is structured and managed.
A leader in sustainability
Cantina San Giorgio plays a central role in Tinazzi’s sustainability performance, having obtained in 2023, for the second consecutive year, the Equalitas certification. The comprehensive assessment assesses good practices and integrated economic, environmental and social indicators, each one developed on the basis of the most advanced experience available in the wine industry.
The Equalitas stamp recognises San Giorgio’s leading standards across three main axis: governance, finished product and territory (in both its social and environmental dimension).
It was precisely thinking of the value of Taranto’s territory, and of the need to preserve its incredible natural beauty, that the Tinazzi family decided, a few years ago, to become a patron and wine partner of Jonian Dolphin Conservation.
Founded in 2009 by Carmelo Fanizza, the Jonian Dolphin Conservation (JDC) is a scientific research institution, unique in the Italian context. The association is dedicated to the study of cetaceans in the Gulf of Taranto, in the northern Ionian Sea and its multidisciplinary team includes biologists, environmental guides, experienced seamen and young volunteers.
With a deep, holistic knowledge of the marine environment, JDC’s staff develop an essential work of research and education, raising awareness of the outstanding fauna of the Gulf of Taranto while conducting invaluable research.
Since 2022, Cantina San Giorgio has been further committed to its support of the JDC by adopting three cetaceans named Pontos, Idros and Toosa, to whom it has dedicated a new range of three wines: ‘Pontos’ Primitivo Salento Igp, ‘Idros’ Chardonnay Puglia Igp and ‘Toosa’ Primitivo Rosato Salento Igp. For each bottle sold of this new collection, San Giorgio will donate €1 to JDC’s research and education activities.
The wines can be tasted and bought by all the ‘researchers for a day’ who, during the Whale & Dolphin watching and Citizen Research expeditions, join the JDC staff each day on their boats in the Gulf of Taranto.
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