2026-05-18
Folonari is investing 7 million euros in a new winery at Tenuta del Cabreo, in the hills of Montefioralle, a few miles from Greve in Chianti, in a move that underscores how wine tourism has become central to the business strategy of one of Tuscany’s long-established wine families. The project, unveiled in the heart of Chianti Classico, comes as the company seeks to strengthen both production and hospitality at a time when wine sales are under pressure in several markets and producers are looking for new ways to reach consumers.
The new facility is part of what the family calls the “world of Cabreo,” an effort to build a single experience around wine, food and lodging. The investment is significant for a company with about 11 million euros in annual revenue and reflects a broader shift in the sector toward fine wines and destination-driven hospitality. Giovanni Folonari, the eighth generation of the family in wine, said the company wants to tell the story of an entire territory rather than just a bottle. He said modern consumers want more than elegance in the glass; they want identity, origin and family history.
The Folonari group now focuses on wines tied to place and made entirely within its own estates, from vineyard to cellar. Its holdings include five properties: Nozzole and Cabreo in Chianti Classico, Torcavolto in Montepulciano, Campo al Mare in Bolgheri, La Fuga in Montalcino and Vigne a Porrona in Maremma. Together they cover more than 210 hectares of vineyards. The company has also kept Sangiovese at the center of its work, especially at Nozzole, where it produces Annata, Riserva and Gran Selezione wines from the grape.
The new Cabreo winery was designed by the Florentine architect Carlo Ludovico Poccianti and divided into three main areas: vinification, barrel aging and tasting. The vinification room uses vertical gravity-fed stainless-steel tanks with bronze-colored details meant to make the working space more visually refined. The cellar holds more than 300 oak vessels, including tonneaux, barriques and large casks, along with stainless-steel tanks for fermentation and storage with a total capacity of 4,500 hectoliters. Stacked tanks allow separate cru parcels to be kept apart during production.
Technology also plays a larger role in the new building. The winery includes an optical sorter that examines each grape berry individually before fermentation. The project also includes an archive of historic vintages dedicated to the Super Tuscan wines produced at Cabreo. Company executives said the goal is to create an integrated hospitality system that links production with lodging and dining.
Davide Profeti, who became chief executive of Tenute Folonari at the end of April, said the family made a major financial effort to build what he described as a true Cabreo ecosystem. That includes two existing boutique relais, Borgo del Cabreo and Pietra del Cabreo, as well as a restaurant that reinterprets traditional Tuscan cooking. With the opening of the new winery, visitors can now move through all parts of the project as part of one experience rooted in the landscape around Greve in Chianti.
The company is also betting that luxury hospitality can attract travelers looking to leave behind crowded city centers such as Florence, which is about 30 minutes away by car. Giovanni Folonari said many visitors want to spend time in the countryside after visiting urban landmarks and are looking for quiet among vineyards and green hills. He said that in a difficult macroeconomic climate marked by tariffs, conflicts and public debate over alcohol consumption, investing now is a deliberate countercurrent choice.
At the inauguration, Greve in Chianti’s mayor, Paolo Sottani, awarded honorary citizenship to Ambrogio Folonari, who founded the company’s modern chapter after buying an estate there in 1967. Folonari said he had arrived from Brescia as a young man and had watched the area evolve over decades. He said the purpose of the new winery is quality above all else.