Castello Banfi

Castello Banfi Brunello Harvest Optimal, Possibly Best Ever

Castello Banfi just completed its Brunello harvest and is already reporting that it appears to be their best Brunello harvest on record. General Manager Enrico Viglierchio reports, “We are experiencing in the first wines fermented incredible concentration, an explosion of fruit and marvelous balance. This vintage will make a lot of very happy Brunello drinkers!”

Beyond Brunello, excellent climate conditions have made for an overall high quality harvest at the Castello Banfi estate. White varietals include Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay and Vermentino – the latter of which has been identified as a key growth driver for the Banfi portfolio. “Castello Banfi is seeing the market's interest in alternative whites. It's a great opportunity for Tuscan Vermentino and Banfi's La Pettegola will continue to be a focus for us,” comments 3rd generation family proprietor, Cristina Mariani-May.

While harvest continues with Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc commencing today, the winery has been optimistic about the Sangiovese thus far with vineyard operations of thinning and defoliation contributing to a successful harvest. Given their extensive work with Sangiovese clones, it’s not surprising that Banfi has joined the Rose craze with a Sangiovese-based Rosè. Says Mariani-May, “Given consumers' willingness to explore within the Rosè category in terms of regions, varietals and of course expanding seasonality, we're also excited about the growth ahead for Banfi's newest release, Cost'é Rosè. Reminiscent of coastal Tuscany, it's primarily Sangiovese kissed by Vermentino from the Maremma.”

Banfi was founded in 1978 thanks to the will of the Italian-American brothers, John and Harry Mariani. From the beginning, the goal of the two brothers was to create a state-of-the-art winery combined with the most advanced science in the vineyards for the production of premium wines. Together with the Mariani family, Ezio Rivella, one of Italy's foremost enologists, who understood that due to the richness of the soils and the privileged microclimatic position, the property would have great capacity of development. In those years, the brothers, John and Harry, also purchased Bruzzone, a historic winery in Piedmont. Founded in 1860 and specialized in the production of sparkling wines, today is known as Banfi Piemonte.

Tuscany’s most honored vineyard estate, Castello Banfi’s award-winning wines are exported to over 90 countries around the world. Lauded for groundbreaking research on the Sangiovese vine to produce superior Brunello and super Tuscan wines; producing healthy, more organic wines that are low in sulfites and histamines; and developing cutting edge winemaking techniques, Castello Banfi is the first winery in the world to be awarded international recognition for exceptional environmental, ethical and social responsibility (ISO 14001 and SA8000) as well as an international leader in customer satisfaction (ISO 9001:2000). Castello Banfi is a beacon for hospitality in the region, with a full service enoteca, glass museum, winery tours, informal La Taverna for lunch, fine dining at La Sala dei Grappoli, and luxury rooms and suites at the highly acclaimed Castello Banfi – Il Borgo.

Banfi Piemonte

Banfi Piemonte is the name of the family’s sparkling wine cellars in Strevi, Piedmont, run in conjunction with the nearby single-vineyard estates of Principessa Gavia and Rosa Regale.

Giving Back

Banfi’s success has enabled the company to play a broad philanthropic role through the Banfi Foundation. The Foundation provided seed money to help Catholic Relief Services build a technical school and an orphanage as well as an 800-unit housing project in Potenza, Italy, where thousands were left homeless after a devastating earthquake in the early 1980s. It also generously endows select charities and universities around the world, and sponsors annual scholastic tours to study the food and wine culture of Italy.

Family Leadership

Banfi is led today by the founder’s granddaughter Cristina Mariani-May, who is president and CEO. Her father, Chairman Emeritus Dr. John F. Mariani, continues as active counsel to the executive committee and is a member of the firm’s advisory board. Banfi’s world headquarters is a 60-room Elizabethan manor located on a 127-acre estate and vineyard in Old Brookville, New York.

The Castello Banfi estate extends to the south of Montalcino, to the borders of the Val d’Orcia. Of the 7,100 acres of land, about one third is under vine in a constellation of single vineyards, the remainder occupied by olive groves, fruit trees (mainly plums), woods and scrub. As a project dedicated to highlight the prized denominations oflower Piedmont, Banfi Piedmont represents the perfect unionbetween the centuries-old sparkling wine tradition and a winemaking maturity experienced in the cellars. The property extends between the towns of Novi Ligure and Acqui Terme, over an area of 124 acres, of which 114 are under vine.

Its dedication to Tuscany has recently brought Banfi to new territories, among the most evocative of the region: Bolgheri, where a small estate based on the legend of the Etruscans produces a Bolgheri DOC; the Maremma, a territory dedicated to the production of  Vermentino; and Chianti, most prized for the birth of Chianti Classico.

Designed to protect the integrity and richness of the grape, the winery employs state of the art technology, the result of revolutionary technical research and innovation. And in this same philosophy, based on continual research, that a number of projects came to be on our estate, including the clonal study of Sangiovese, research on the composition and aging of wood for barrels – the great protagonist of aging wine – and the completion of our “Horizon” microvinification area, creating a winery within a winery.  This project, entirelyconceived and developed by and at Banfi, is made up of a series of expedient high level solutions undertaken to improve upon each phase of winemaking. 

The tremendous undertaking for vinification is followed by a long silent rest in wood, where the great wines of Banfi, principally reds, evolve over the passage of time and refine their most distinctive characteristics of strength, elegance and longevity. More than 7000 customized barrels, laid out in orderly rows, and large casks make up the heart of Banfi, which beats in the silent and peaceful ambience surrounding our winery.   

“We are selling not just wine, but a way of life. It’s about something slower, calmer, more in touch with family.” — Cristina Mariani-May Cristina Mariani-May is the CEO and president of Banfi, a global wine brand that includes the internationally renowned Castello Banfi vineyard estate in Montalcino, Tuscany; leading US importer Banfi Vintners; and US Northwest wine specialist Pacific Rim & Company. The youngest daughter of Banfi Chairman Emeritus, John F. Mariani, Jr., Ms. Mariani-May, together with her cousin James Mariani, represents the third generation of family leadership in the company founded by their grandfather, John Mariani, Sr. in 1919. Soon after completing her studies at Georgetown University and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business, Mariani-May joined Banfi in 1993. Among the first of many forward-thinking initiatives introduced by Mariani-May was the creation of progressive new tracking and monitoring systems at Castello Banfi, designed to elevate performance and establish new goals in the fields of customer satisfaction, environmental responsibility and social responsibility.

In 2006 those procedures paid off when Castello Banfi became the only winery in the world to achieve ISO 14001, ISO 9001 and SA 8000 certification acknowledging leadership in these areas. This accomplishment underlines the strategic long-term vision, coupled with an ability to execute, that characterize her management of Castello Banfi. A “pursuit of excellence” serves as a personal mantra for Mariani-May. It extends to every aspect of her work, in particular her family’s wines and nowhere more so than with the Brunellos for which Castello Banfi is renowned. Alone among producers of Brunello di Montalcino wines, Castello Banfi has conducted ground-breaking research aimed at defining and isolating the finest clones of the Sangiovese Grosso grape. Initiated in the early 1980s, the project moved into high gear after Mariani-May joined the company. From an original catalog of over 600 types, 15 have since been determined to possess the greater part of the grape’s inherent characteristics. Today Banfi has definitive results for six clones and research continues on the remaining nine. And like any good neighbor, Banfi has shared those results, as well as registering them in 1996 with the European Community.

Of Italy’s 45 nationally approved clones for Sangiovese, six are from Castello Banfi. Enterprise and readiness to experiment also factor into Mariani-May’s leadership, as illustrated by the recent innovation of new hybrid fermentation tanks at Castello Banfi. Most winemakers are faced with a choice: ferment in wood for added richness and roundness, or use stainless steel for maximum freshness. Unwilling to sit back and accept the status quo, Mariani-May has been the guiding hand behind the development of new hybrid fermenters, comprising a unique combination of a steel base and head and a wood middle section. Seven years of trial and experiment preceded the launch of the new, patented 4,600 gallon tanks (1/3 steel, 2/3 wood), which combine the best of both materials, balancing the flavor and aeration supplied by oak with the temperature control, ease of use and hygiene offered by stainless steel. Inaugurated in September 2007, 24 composite fermenters at Castello Banfi are currently used in the production of the estate’s Brunellos, Tuscan cuves and single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah. For Mariani-May and Banfi, innovation extends beyond winemaking – it begins in the vineyards, and includes responsibility and respect for nature. A recent case in point: implementation of a “bio-bed” system developed in collaboration with the University of Pisa’s Department of Agronomy and Agro-Ecosystem Management, which detoxifies waste water on the Castello Banfi. Mariani-May has also moved the estate to rainwater-sourced, variable flowrate micro-irrigation, resulting in water savings of almost 80%, and to lightweight glass bottles that reduce the winery’s carbon footprint the equivalent of removing one hundred cars from the road. For these and many other eco-friendly initiatives, Mariani-May was named one of “The Most Innovative Women in Food and Drink” by Fortune and Food&Wine magazines in 2015.

Marketing and promotion have always been strengths of the approachable and personable Mariani-May. In the course of her work Mariani-May travels extensively, visiting many of the 85 countries where Castello Banfi wines are sold. An engaging, charismatic speaker, she is a natural international ambassador for her family’s brand. Her boundless energy and charm were recognized by The Drinks Business, as they named her their 2018 Woman of the Year, saying, “aside from her drive, and her many achievements, it is the warm, welcoming manner of our recipient that has earned her such high regard wherever she goes.” Mariani-May’s goals also include transforming Montalcino into a destination for wine lovers and turning Castello Banfi into an international name in wine tourism. A project close to her heart is the supervision and development of Castello Banfi Il Borgo, a 14-room luxury hotel nestled alongside the estate’s medieval castle walls.

The hotel, which opened its doors to the public in 2007, represents the jewel in the crown of the Castello Banfi estate and a beacon of Tuscany hospitality. Mariani-May’s immediate family includes her husband, Marshall May, and their three young children. A hands-on mother, she divides her time between Montalcino and Long Island, NY, home to Banfi Vintners. An avid runner and frequent marathoner, she freely admits that much of her best thinking comes during her early morning work-outs. The virtues of self-discipline, determination and endurance demanded of a long-distance runner might equally well apply to a sustained and successful leadership role in business.