Carpineto

Founded at Greve in Chianti in 1967 by the Sacchet and Zaccheo families, Carpineto now farms 500 hectares across five estates: Chianti Classico, Alto Valdarno, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Brunello di Montalcino and the Maremma.

Holding land in all four of Tuscany's major red appellations is unusual and deliberate. Sangiovese behaves quite differently in each: firmer and more herbal in the cool hills of Chianti Classico, broader and earlier in Montepulciano, deeper and longer-lived on the warmer southern slopes of Montalcino. Farming all of them lets one house show the grape's full range rather than a single accent.

All five estates are carbon neutral. Carpineto holds VIVA sustainability certification, the Italian environment ministry's scheme, and is accredited to ISO 14001 and IFS. The estate has been named IWSC Italian Wine Producer of the Year, and was the first Italian winery ever to take the IWSC International Winemaker of the Year title. Antonio Zaccheo is now joined by his son Antonio junior.