Ricasoli and Castello di Brolio wine estate

Brolio Castle is located at Gaiole in Chianti and is one of the symbols of the territory of the Chianti Classico area. The history of the Ricasoli family has been linked to wine since 1141, when there is written testimony attesting that the Ricasoli family already possessed Brolio Castle. Interesting documents from the late 1600s report the first exports to Amsterdam and England, whereas at the start of the 1900s, the wines from Brolio were well known and appreciated, requested and exported all over the world: from China to Saudi Arabia, from South Africa to Guatemala, from Costa Rica to the one-time British colonies in Africa. Most especially, in 1872 Baron Bettino Ricasoli (1809 – 1880), illustrious politician and visionary wine entrepreneur, originated the formula for Chianti wine, now called Chianti Classico. Since 1993, Baron Francesco Ricasoli has been guiding this central Tuscan company in innovative challenges. This has been done with the deepest respect for his renowned ancestors who have made this territory great, Bettino Ricasoli first and foremost.

With its gentle hills, velvety valleys and thick woodlands of oaks and chestnuts, the 1,200 hectares of property include almost 240 hectares of vineyards and 26 of olive groves. Each vineyard plot is harvested separately. Once gathered, the grapes are taken to the vat room in containers with a maximum capacity of 200 kg; vinification takes place in small steel vats, enabling careful regulation of the fermentation process and keeping the characteristics of every single vineyard plot separate. The structure of the winemaking cellar is devised so that the vats are filled by means of gravity, which allows a gentle punching down and extracts the most desirable substances from the skins. At the end of the fermentation process the wines are transferred to barrels of various sizes and oak barriques in the barrel aging cellar.

The cellars of Barone Ricasoli are at the foot of Brolio Castle, separated from the main body of the winery, and used exclusively for winemaking. The modernization of the old cellars was done by carefully restoring the aesthetics and functions of the original nineteenth century rooms, while organizing modern and technologically avant-garde spaces at the same time.