The Nunzi Conti family estate
Villa Barberino in the past
The Nunzi Conti family began their adventure in the wine busines at the end of the 1800s, when young Gualtiero Nunzi left his small village in the Tuscan Mountains and moved to Florence.
After arriving in the Tuscan capital, he undertook a string of very different but profitable jobs and after only a few years, Gualtiero was able to make his dream come true purchasing the family’s first vineyards in Mercatale Val di Pesa in the heart of the Chianti Classico area.
When Gualtiero passed away, the winery was inherited by his eldest son, Antonio, who carried on the family tradition with the same dedication of his father. Antonio strongly believed in the area’s vocation for winemaking and was one of the founders of the Consorzio del Vino Chianti Classico Gallo Nero.
A few years after the end of the second world war, Antonio’s brother Gualtiero Armando, took over the helm of the winery leaving his successful business in the coffee industry and turning his focus to viticulture. Gualtiero Armando became one of the key figures in the history of both the family winery and the local wine industry. On 26th May 1970, he was made Vice-President of the Consorzio Vino Chianti Classico and held the role of President between 1994 and 1997.
With the entrepreneurial approach he had used in his previous industry, Gualtiero Armando planted new vineyards, purchased more land and built a profitable and efficient winery whilst respecting the beauty and nature of the extraordinary countryside of the Chianti hills.
In 1965 he purchased the 15th century Villa Pancani that was later named Villa Barberino. The villa is a fine example of the extravagant houses that noble families from Florence built in the most picturesque areas of their estates. Today the Villa and surrounding land remains the heart of the Nunzi Conti family estate.
Run by his son Maurizio and grandchildren Antonio and Isabella, they are assisted by wine-maker Giampaolo Chiettini as they manage the winery with the same passion and dedication that drove young Gualtiero at the end of the 1800s.
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