Castello di Volpaia

The earliest documents mentioning Volpaia date to 1172, and the village's walls likely predate that by about a century; a trade profile of the estate also describes it as a founding member of the historic Chianti League. Volpaia's own site separately notes an unrelated Florentine family of instrument-makers called "della Volpaia," whose most celebrated member, Lorenzo, built the planetary clock for Florence's Palazzo Vecchio. By the 1960s the village, then divided among three owners, was in decline as farmers left the Tuscan countryside for city jobs. In 1966, Raffaello Stianti, a book publisher from Florence, bought the first part of Volpaia as a hunting retreat and gradually bought out the other two owners. He banned synthetic pesticides so game would stay on the land, a habit that became the foundation of the estate's later organic farming. On November 25, 1972, Raffaello surprised his daughter Giovannella and her new husband, Carlo Mascheroni, by giving them Volpaia as a wedding present; the cellar's first vintage had already been made in 1968. Carlo and Giovannella spent decades restoring the village and building a winery inside its historic walls, a project complicated by Italian laws protecting the 12th-century structures. Carlo Mascheroni died in 2017. The estate's own account of its generations names today's stewards as Federica and Nicolo Mascheroni Stianti, with the family owning close to two-thirds of the walled village.

• Earliest documents mentioning Volpaia date to 1172; a founding member of the historic Chianti League
• Raffaello Stianti, a Florentine book publisher, bought the first part of the village in 1966 and gradually acquired the rest
• Gave Volpaia to daughter Giovannella and new husband Carlo Mascheroni as a wedding present on November 25, 1972; the first vintage in the cellar was made in 1968
• Carlo Mascheroni (d. 2017); the estate's own site names today's generation as Federica and Nicolo Mascheroni Stianti
• The family owns close to two-thirds of the walled medieval village

Volpaia farms roughly 45 hectares (about 114 acres) of vines rising from around 400 meters above sea level on the ridge below the village, on predominantly sandstone soil that is otherwise rare in Chianti Classico, where clay and limestone are more typical. The estate's winemaker and vineyard manager, Lorenzo Regoli, has said the sandstone does not hold water but lets vine roots push deep to find moisture, producing elegant rather than heavy Sangiovese. Between the early 1970s and 2004 the estate replanted much of its vineyard at higher density and began selecting from its oldest vines, eventually identifying 25 distinct clones. Volpaia began filling out the paperwork to convert to organic farming in September 2000 and set off on the certification path in 2001; its inaugural certified organic vintage was 2003, ahead of most Chianti Classico peers at the time.

• About 45 hectares (roughly 114 acres) of vines starting around 400 meters above sea level, predominantly on sandstone soil
• Replanted at higher density between the early 1970s and 2004 while selecting from old vines; 25 distinct Sangiovese clones eventually identified
• Organic conversion paperwork began September 2000; certification path began 2001; inaugural certified organic vintage was 2003
• Winemaker and vineyard manager: Lorenzo Regoli

Because Italian heritage law protects Volpaia's 12th-century buildings, the Mascheroni Stianti family built its winery into the historic village itself rather than constructing a modern facility outside its walls. Fermentation cellars were hidden inside old buildings at the top of the village, with roofs removed so cranes could lower in the steel vats, while aging cellars were housed in cool basements below, including one under an old church. The family connected the two levels with a "vinoduct," 600 feet of pipe running under the streets, so that wine could move downhill by gravity from the crush pad at the top of town to the barrel rooms at the bottom without damaging pumps. The Chianti Classico Riserva has been produced since 1967, made from 100% Sangiovese sourced from some of the estate's highest vineyards. The estate's Chianti Classico is a blend of Sangiovese and Merlot. Three single-vineyard wines round out the range: Coltassala, whose vineyard is planted almost entirely to Sangiovese with a small share of Mammolo, and which was originally released as a Vino da Tavola before evolving into a Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG; Il Puro, from the Casanova vineyard, a 100% Sangiovese wine drawn from old indigenous vines the estate traces to 1943 in its Campo di Berto plot; and Balifico, an IGT Toscana blend of about 65% Sangiovese and 35% Cabernet Sauvignon released in 1985, quickly labeled a Super Tuscan by the international press. Volpaia also makes a Vinsanto del Chianti Classico from Trebbiano and Malvasia grapes dried and pressed in February, then fermented with indigenous yeasts for five years in the estate's vinsantaia, an attic space where wide temperature swings drive its slow evolution.

• Fermentation cellars at the top of the village, aging cellars in basements below (including one under an old church), connected by a 600-foot underground "vinoduct" so wine moves downhill by gravity instead of by pump
• Chianti Classico Riserva: 100% Sangiovese, produced since 1967, from some of the estate's highest vineyards
• Coltassala: mostly Sangiovese with a small share of Mammolo; evolved from Vino da Tavola to Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG
• Il Puro: 100% Sangiovese from the Casanova vineyard, drawn from old indigenous vines the estate traces to 1943
• Balifico: about 65% Sangiovese, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, IGT Toscana, released 1985 and labeled a Super Tuscan by the international press
• Vinsanto del Chianti Classico: Trebbiano and Malvasia, dried grapes pressed in February and fermented on indigenous yeast for five years

Volpaia's best-known result is its Chianti Classico Riserva 2015, which became the first Chianti Riserva ever to receive 96 points from Wine Spectator and ranked #3 on the magazine's Top 100 of 2018, a feature profile the magazine titled "Chianti's Hidden Treasure." More recently, the Chianti Classico 2021 was ranked #5 on Wine Spectator's Top 10 Value wines of 2023 at 92 points and $30 a bottle.

• Chianti Classico Riserva 2015: first Chianti Riserva ever to score 96 points from Wine Spectator, ranked #3 on the magazine's Top 100 of 2018
• Chianti Classico 2021: 92 points, ranked #5 on Wine Spectator's Top 10 Value wines of 2023, at $30 a bottle

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://volpaia.com/en/, https://volpaia.com/en/scopri-volpaia/, https://volpaia.com/en/le-tenute-castello-di-volpaia/, https://volpaia.com/en/i-nostri-vini/, https://volpaia.com/en/contatti/, https://volpaia.com/en/famiglia/castello-di-volpaia-chianti-riserva-red/, https://volpaia.com/en/famiglia/coltassala-gran-selectione-red/, https://volpaia.com/en/famiglia/il-puro-gran-selezione-red/, https://volpaia.com/en/famiglia/balifico-igt-red/, https://volpaia.com/en/famiglia/volpaia-chianti-classico-red/, https://volpaia.com/en/famiglia/volpaia-vinsanto/. Secondary sources: Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2018 feature "Chianti's Hidden Treasure" (top100.winespectator.com), WineNews.it, Chapel Hill Wine Company newsletter (August 2018), Market Watch Mag trade feature, Grape Collective interview with Federica Mascheroni Stianti. Last verified 2026-09-13. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.