This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.



In Italy, until a few


years ago there was a very masculine mentality. For


my father, it was


certainly not usual or expected that we


would work with him and give him help


“For my father, it was certainly not


usual or expected that we would work with him and give him help.” So it was a pleasant surprise for the


elder Antinori when his daughters came of age and proved themselves to be passionate and capable within the family business. Realising he did indeed have a next-in-line, he launched a battle to return the business to 100% family ownership, having sold part of it to UK- based hospitality corporation Whitbread in the early 1980s, a relationship which had since soured. “When my sisters and I started to


work at 18 years old, at that point he understood there was a possibility of continuing [family control],” Allegra says. “In 1992, we bought back the part of


the company we had sold, which was about half. Whatever [my father] has done to grow the company, he really did with the idea of it continuing to the next generation.” Today Allegra’s elder sister Albiera is


company president, and youngest sister Alessia is in charge of the Antinori Art Project, making the trio the first female management team in the company’s 633- year history. Their father, semi-retired, acts as honorary president. Was taking over from 25 generations of


male heirs daunting? “No,” Allegra says. “I had a lot of fun.” “I first started working for


[Californian winery] Robert Mondavi, then for 32 years I have worked for Antinori. Things have changed a lot in that time, but the company has been flourishing… it has doubled the exports, tripled turnover, and doubled the quantity of wine produced, always with attention to quality.” Of course, there have been challenges.


Allegra describes the period where she had young children while working as “a bit more of a hassle”. When it comes to her own children,


a 19-year-old son at university and a daughter, 17, currently doing work experience in one of Antinori’s retail shops, Allegra says: “We will see”.


PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY OF MARCHESI ANTINORI/SARA MATTHEWS CAMPDENFB.COM 29


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112
Produced with Yudu - www.yudu.com