Mazzei: The Innovation Never Stops
By Kim Preish
Photo by Isabela Elizondo
On Monday, October 7th, Alessandro Vallecchi, the marketing consultant of the Mazzei wine producer, took the time to speak with the FUA students. Before he explained the marketing strategies for Mazzei’s wines, he informed us about the company’s background. Mazzei has three estates: Castello di Fonterutoli in Chianti Classico, Belguardo in Maremma (southern Tuscany), and Zisola (Sicily).
Vallecchi works vigorously to communicate Mazzei’s vision to other countries abroad. Mazzei combines its appreciation for history and Tuscan culture with an intense dedication to innovation, which has always been embedded in the Mazzei family, beginning with the year 1398 and Ser Lapo Mazzei. He changed Tuscan wine culture forever when he was the first Italian to identify Chianti as a type of wine, not only a region. Furthermore, another member of the Mazzei family, Philip Mazzei, traveled to the United States with his friend Thomas Jefferson. At Jefferson’s estate, they started the first European-style vineyards in the US. He also began to experiment with American grapes to see how they grew in comparison. Aside from his viticultural activities, he also contributed to the Declaration of Independence with his firm believe that “all men are by nature equally free and independent.” In honor of Philip’s historical ties to the United States, the Mazzei family decided to base a wine after him. Philip (the wine) is a full bodied Cabernet Sauvignon with hints of dark cherries, chocolate, spices and cinnamon, and will be presented at the James Beard Foundation by our team.
Nowadays, the Mazzei family has found new techniques to stand apart from other Italian wines and continue their forward thinking strategies. Their Fonterutoli estate has over 120 different vineyards, with 36 Sangiovese biotypes. Each year the estate tracks the best varieties in order to determine how different terriors affect the wine production, such as altitude, soil, and sun exposure. This ensures that the company is consistently improving.
Another unique aspect of Mazzei is how the company distributes grape varieties to their different wines by using a top-down system, which Alessandro simply and effectively explained in terms of attire. The first tier is considered of “formal or couture attire;” that is the best or most interesting varieties of the Sangiovese grapes and are used to create the Castello wine. The middle tier is considered “business casual.” These grapes occupy a good portion of the estate’s lands, and contribute to the Fonterutoli that we will be presenting at the James Beard Foundation. Finally, the other grapes are used to produce Badiola, which is an everyday wine similar to “blue jeans casual.”
In addition to the Philip and Fonterutoli wines, the TuttoTuscana team will also be presenting a white wine, Vermentino, at the James Beard Foundation.