The Antinori family have been producing wine in Tuscany for over six centuries and exporting it for four, spanning twenty-seven generations of uninterrupted family ownership … and counting. The first recorded mention of the family dates back to 1180 when they worked in the silk trade. Winemaking was added to the family’s activities in 1385, and during the sixteenth century, the wines spread, along with Antinori’s reputation, to France, Flanders, Spain and North Africa. The purchase of the Tignanello estate in the mid-1800s marked the beginning of a remarkable period of expansion. Since then, through judicious acquisition of vineyards and an uncanny knack for developing iconic wines, Antinori has become Tuscany’s – arguably Italy’s – pre-eminent wine producer. Some of the wines – Badia a Passignano, Pèppoli, Tignanello and Solaia – are each the product of a single estate, while Villa Antinori and the Vin Santo are blends of selected lots from several of the family’s vineyards, including the flagship Tenuta Tignanello site