Winery History
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The California adventure all began in 1966 when Piero as a young man first traveled to the Napa Valley and discovered the spirit of the new frontier. Twenty years later the Antinori Family purchased a number of shares in a venture along with England's Whitbread and France's Champagne Bollinger to develop a 1,200 acre Napa Valley wine estate. Piero Antinori was attracted to this spectacular property located on a high plain in the eastern mountains of the celebrated Napa Valley because of its breathtaking location; its rocky soils, high elevations and beautiful landscape. The hilly terrain is above all ideal wine growing country.
In 1993, their increasing certainty of the potential of this terroir led the Antinori Family to make a personal investment in this project after being presented the opportunity to purchase the shares of the other partners and assume direct ownership of the estate, which includes about 500 acres of vineyards in a particularly well-suited area. Marchese Antinori identified Reserve vineyard blocks for the future production of a Napa Valley wine by the Antinori Family. For the remaining portion of the vineyard, Piero Antinori established a 15-year lease agreement that expired in November 2008.
In 1998, the Antinori Family was able to buy an adjoining tract of land where an additional 24 acres of vineyard were planted. This vineyard provided an additional selection of grapes for the first vintage (2001) produced here. The limited production of Cabernet Sauvignon was the estate's first, important step.
In 2006, the estate was named Antica Napa Valley, with the Antinori Family's belief that the Napa Valley estate's intrinsic “DNA” will produce wines with great personality and style. “Antica” is a symbol for Antinori California and represents the realization of a long standing desire and is also a milestone in the production of great Antinori Family wines in the Napa Valley. In September 2007, very limited quantities of a 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon and a 2006 Chardonnay were released to the market.
