Villa Cafaggio Winery

Villa Cafaggio dates back to hundreds of years ago, when the property was named "Cahago", which means "enclosed, cultivated field". According to historical documents, hundreds of years later, in the 15th century, vines still flourished on the estate under the ownership of Benedictine monks from Siena. Afterwards, the property had various owners, as the distinguished Florentine family Nicholini. Subsequently it was sold to the Santa Maria Nuova Hospital of Florence. During this long period the property produced a great variety of foodstuffs, among which oil and wine. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, Cafaggio passed to the Boddi family and in the late 1960s, the Farkas family bought it as a country house. In 1967 the property was in a terrible state of decay, so the family set about restoring the wine cellars and replanting the vineyards and olive groves. Only one vineyard remained intact at that time: Solatio Basilica. This vineyard has been replanted with new, accurately selected vines that now produce a very special Chianti Classico Riserva. In the late 1960s and early 1970s Stefano Farkas also restored Cafaggio's San Martino vineyard, located below the ancient church of San Martino in Cecione, replanting more than 20 hectares of vines, primarily with Tuscan Sangiovese and some Sangiovese Grosso. In 1986, Stefano Farkas planted 4,000 Cabernet Sauvignon vines (from two different clones), grafted on 22-year-old Tuscan Canaiolo, followed by additional plantings (from a third French clone of Cabernet Sauvignon) in 1991 and 1995. Following a lot of research and experimentation, these vines now produce the Supertoscano Cortaccio. Stefano Farkas, a passionate and hard-working researcher, in 1991 also replanted 5 hectares of new vines with special Sangiovese clones on American rootstock. Then he replanted 15 hectares in 1998 and 2 hectares in 1999. Following the "Chianti Classico 2000" programme, Stefano identified and extensively planted the optimum Sangiovese clones for this particular region. Thanks to the shared enthusiasm and to the precious know-how concerning the specific sectors of this activity, Villa Cafaggio wines are well known and appreciated all over the world. Since the spring of 2005, Villa Cafaggio has been under the control of Cantina La-Vis e Valle di Cembra, which together with the Girelli family is working to implement a new strategy, injecting fresh new ideas and investment in Villa Cafaggio. Minute attention to detail is employed throughout every stage of the production process; from the moment the grapes are picked, to the moment the wine leaves the winery. Villa Cafaggio is seeking to establish itself as a niche producer of Chianti Classico. Characterised by its terroir and destinctive wine style, Villa Cafaggio provides a srong proposotion to a wide variety of different markets.

 



comments powered by Disqus