The classic Chianti wine is well represented by Mazzei winery. They produce wine since 1435. It means 24 generations of a family that made the history of Castello Fonterutoli, producing high quality classic Chianti that today is largely exported to the United States.
The Mazzei family already knew how to make wine in the far 1400 years, as proved by the family archives conserved in their family house (click here to find out more about it). Since then they continued to make research aiming an always better quality reached through more natural ways . Today, Mazzei winery produces about 700.000/800.000 bottles/year.
Until 2007 the wine cellars were in the village of Fonterutoli, close to the family owned bed & breakfast, winehouse and tavern, but since then the family architect projected a modern structure that unifies the wine shop, the visiting tours, the offices, the tasting rooms and… the grape harvest.
The new place is built around a big space where the camions arrive full of grapes during harvest time. They bring grapes from all the 117 hectares of Mazzei wineries. So who works in the offices, who is visiting the cellars or buying wine can be part of it, watching first hand the most important moment of a winery routine.
The project was meant to improve the quality of the wine. The Mazzei winery improved the production during the last years, but, more important, it increased the quality of its products, an important value for the company mission.
The grapes arrive in small boxes (not to hurt the grapes) and they are then transferred to the steel containers through tunnels placed in the square, using the gravity and not pressure pumps that could damage them.
After the wine is transferred to wood barriques for a time that depends on each tipology. The Mazzei winery produces different types of Chianti, all high quality wines.
Click here to discover the Castello Fonterutoli Tavern