BARBANERA

Wines by Barbanera

Italy’s famous vine-growing region, Tuscany, is renowned for its excellent wine. Great wine often comes at a high cost. However, in the little known commune of Cetona, an estate that launched its winery during the financially desperate years of the Great Recession has spent years perfecting the art of balancing product excellence with fair pricing. The Barbanera family can boast a highly awarded portfolio, rivalling some of the biggest names in Tuscan wine, and yet the Duca di Saragnano* wines remain accessible to all levels of wine-lovers.

* The Barbanera family winery chose to pay respect to a great legend whose descendant became a close friend of Luigi Barbanera (father of Marco and Paolo who now run the estate). The original Duca di Saragnano came from Campania but fled north to Tuscany, around the 10th Century, as foreign invaders took over much of southern Italy. The Duca di Saragnano was remembered as “amongst the bravest and noblest local defenders” of the Italian land, who “fought valiantly” against the aggressors. Centuries later the inheritor of the title ‘Duca di Saragnano’ met the Barbanera family, who had started out in 1938 with home-produced olive oil, cheeses, cured meat and wine, and granted the use of the prestigious name as “a token of his esteem”.

The winery has steadily expanded under the guidance of the younger generation of winemakers. As well as award- winning wines from the main estate they now plant Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the new Vecciano Estate, where the vineyards enjoy the privilege of placement inside the famous Chianti DOCG boundary. The most recent addition to the collection is a small-production project under the line Le Forconate, where the focus is on a special selection of premium grapes. The combination of family, passion and a desire to fill the needs of their customers, makes Barbanera a true success story and one worthy of the noble Duca.