Win(e)ding Roads: The Frescobaldi Crus Wine Seminar at the Sun Winefest 1.17.09

Contributing Writer

In addition to the Grand Tasting, Christy and I signed up for the Frescobaldi  Crus Wine Seminar.  Hosted by Kerry Guilfoyle of Folio Wine Partners, the sole distributor of Frescobaldi wines in the US, the seminar was held in a private room in Todd English’s Tuscany Restaurant.  The room itself was gorgeous, wood-paneled, with shelves full of wine bottles lining the main wall and extending up to the 20-foot ceilings.   A large rustic, farm-style table that seats about 20 dominated the room, and above the table were two lovely wrought-iron chandeliers. 

The Frescobaldi vineyards are a family owned business now in its 30th generation.  The 31st generation is currently in school and will be joining the family business upon graduation.  

The Frescobaldis, a Florentine family, first became successful as bankers around the year 1,000.  During their banking career, they loaned money to Edward I and Edward II of England to finance their wars with France in their unsuccessful attempts to reclaim the Bordeaux region for the English crown.  Unfortunately for the Frescobaldis, England lost those wars, and the King of France fined them heavily for giving aid to the enemy.  The family was forced out of banking and shifted to cultivating grapes and producing wines.   More than 600 years later, the family owns 9 properties, each with its own castle, encompassing more than 2,500 acres across Tuscany.

Over the centuries the Frescobaldis have sold wine to such luminaries as Donatello, Michaelangeo, and the Kings of England.  Along the way they have amassed an impressive art collection, much of it by allowing artists to barter for wine.

The Frescobaldi Crus seminar featured the premier wines from 4 of the Frescobaldi estates, each with their own history: CastelGiocondo, Castiglioni, Castello di Pomino, and Castello di Nipozzano.

First stop: Castello di Pomino…