Castello di Volpaia - winery in Chianti Classico

The village of Volpaia lies high on a hill facing Radda in Chianti on a perfect south-facing slope. Unlike the many other castles of Chianti, Castello di Volpaia, which was built during the 11-hundreds, was an actual fortified village. It had to withstand the possible attacks of rivaling towns, Florence and Siena, and today its layout still lies original hence making it one of the best-preserved villages of its time.

In 1966 (one year before the DOC was given to the Chianti Classico wine) Raffaello purchased a large part of the hamlet of Volpaia. Historically, it was a wine-producing village being one of the founding members of the Chianti League of 1250. When Raffaello's adored daughter Gio got married to Carlo in the early 1970'ies, they received the village and winery as a wedding gift!

Soon after, the newlywed couple started a never-ending project of renovating building by building, fitting in modern winery equipment into small historical spaces. In fact, today the village is a maze of vat rooms, barrel rooms, bottling line room, storage room - all connected through a sort of wine-duct through which the wine travels in hoses under the streets!
It's so impressive that this village, which is home to around 35 residents, is a true medieval village restored to its original beauty, yet it's a fully-functional and busy winery - yet from the outside, it just looks like a dormant medieval village.