Cabreo

The acquisition of Zano

In the early 1960s, Nino Folonari moved the family business away from mass-market production and towards wines conceived around quality. In 1967 he acquired the Zano estate at Greve in Chianti. The property, between the centre of Greve and the historic village of Montefioralle, comprised approximately 60 hectares. Forty-five hectares eventually became vineyards planted with Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot; the balance remained woodland or contained rural settlements. The winemaking cellar and the historic Cabreo barrel room were established at Zano.

French varieties and the Panzano project

In the early 1970s, Ambrogio and Giovanni Folonari studied French viticulture and selected Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot material to complement the estate’s Sangiovese. A more detailed account places a decisive journey by Ambrogio in the Côte d’Or at the end of that decade, including a visit to the viticultural institute in Beaune. He obtained grafting material for Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.

The family acquired a small property at Panzano in Chianti for this project. Ambrogio grafted the imported material onto Sangiovese vineyards there, assisted by a specialist brought from California. The grafting technique had already been used in California and was intended to make production possible in the following year. Experimentation ultimately showed that Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot could work with Sangiovese for Cabreo, while Chardonnay and Pinot Nero were particularly suited to the higher Casa di Sala vineyards and their calcareous-clay soils.

The birth of the Cabreo identity

The first harvest of Cabreo Il Borgo took place in 1982. Its original conception joined approximately 70% Sangiovese with a combined 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The name Cabreo refers to the historical inventories in which estates and possessions were catalogued through detailed descriptions and hand-drawn plans. Il Borgo honours Montefioralle, the old village overlooking the vineyards and the town of Greve in Chianti.

Cabreo Il Borgo reached the market in 1985. During the 1980s and 1990s, its reputation developed alongside more precise vinification and an élevage directed towards greater structure, concentration and elegance. The blend itself evolved over time to preserve its intended sensory balance.

Chardonnay also became central to the estate’s development. In 1983 Ambrogio and Giovanni vinified and matured Chardonnay in the manner then associated with major Tuscan reds, creating La Pietra, presented as the first white Supertuscan. The use of small French wooden vessels made it one of the early Italian white wines developed through this approach. Pinot Nero had been cultivated in the highest Casa di Sala vineyards since the mid-1980s, following Ambrogio’s visits to Burgundy; this work eventually led to the first vintage of Black in 2006.

A new family company

In 2000, Ambrogio and his son Giovanni founded Ambrogio e Giovanni Folonari Tenute to develop the family’s independently owned Tuscan estates. Giovanni initially directed export sales, opening new markets, and subsequently became chief executive. In May 2017, he succeeded Ambrogio as leader of the company and continued the programme of investment and innovation. Giovanni serves as President and Ambrogio as Honorary President.

Other family members participate in the wider estate project. Giovanna Cornaro, Ambrogio’s wife, owns Borgo del Cabreo and Pietra del Cabreo and supervised their redevelopment. Giovanni’s sisters, Francesca and Angelica Folonari, work particularly on the management and development of hospitality operations.

Refinement and new projects

Between 2015 and 2020, vinification practices were updated with closer attention to aromatic definition and the balance between fruit and oak. These changes also accompanied the development of parallel Cabreo projects, while Cabreo Il Borgo remained the core of the estate identity.

The 2022 vintage was presented as Cabreo Il Borgo’s 40th harvest and received a commemorative label. Cabreo Mytho had begun with the 2019 harvest as a Sangiovese-focused project, while the first millésime of La Pietra Metodo Classico was harvested in 2020, extending more than four decades of work with Chardonnay in Tuscany.

Hospitality and the new cellar

Two rural settlements at Zano were restored as hospitality properties. Borgo del Cabreo revived a former sharecroppers’ settlement, while Pietra del Cabreo brought another historical rural complex back into use. Their development connected the estate’s vineyards with accommodation, food and guided tasting experiences.

The 2025 harvest marked the first time the estate’s historic Supertuscans were vinified in the new Tenute del Cabreo cellar. The harvest followed a season with few extreme weather events and broad day-to-night temperature differences during final ripening. Roberto Potentini and Raffaele Orlandini directed a company harvest lasting at least three months: white grapes at Greve in Chianti and Bolgheri began in August, while the Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon harvest at Greve continued into October. Picking dates were differentiated according to each project.

The completed Cabreo cellar brings together stainless-steel vinification facilities, the Bottaia and Barricaia ageing areas, a historic-vintage vault and a dedicated Cabreo tasting room. Vaulted spaces, oak and traditional Cotto dell’Impruneta connect the new technical facilities with Tuscan materials and craftsmanship.

Viticulture is adapted to the estate’s two sectors and their different varieties. Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot occupy the 45 vineyard hectares at Zano, while 15 hectares of Chardonnay and Pinot Nero are cultivated at the higher Casa di Sala property.

Low spur-pruned cordon is the documented training system. Planting densities in selected Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot vineyards range from 3,000 to 5,000 vines per hectare; Casa di Sala Chardonnay and Pinot Nero vineyards are documented at 5,000 vines per hectare.

The 2025 harvest was managed through differentiated picking dates for individual labels. The wider harvest began with white varieties in August and ended in October with Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon at Greve in Chianti. Roberto Potentini and Raffaele Orlandini directed this approximately three-month process, with emphasis on identifying the appropriate picking moment for each parcel and project.

Cellar

The winemaking cellar and historic Cabreo barrel room stand at Zano. Beginning with the 2025 harvest, the estate’s historic Supertuscans were vinified for the first time in the new Tenute del Cabreo cellar. Its production and visitor route progresses from the stainless-steel Tinaia to the Bottaia and Barricaia, followed by a vault holding historic vintages and a Cabreo tasting room. Vaulted ceilings, oak and Cotto dell’Impruneta integrate the technical spaces with local architectural materials.

Red-wine methods

Current red-wine protocols include fermentation in stainless steel followed by approximately four weeks of maceration. Earlier Cabreo documentation specifies controlled fermentation at 26–28 °C and skin contact of 15–18 days, while later protocols extend maceration to about four weeks.

Élevage varies by project. Cabreo protocols have used 225-litre French oak barriques, historically divided between 30% new, 40% one-year-old and 30% two-year-old barrels. Earlier ageing lasted 16–18 months plus at least six months in bottle; the current protocol specifies at least 24 months in barrique followed by bottle refinement. Pinot Nero protocols have included 500-litre tonneaux for at least one year and, more recently, 17 months in barrique before bottle refinement.

White-wine methods

The estate’s Chardonnay programme was conceived by vinifying and maturing white grapes in a manner associated with important Tuscan reds. The current La Pietra method begins fermentation in stainless steel and transfers the wine to wood midway through fermentation, followed by at least approximately 24 months in tonneaux and further bottle refinement.

Earlier detailed protocols included gentle pressing, 24 hours of cold settling and temperature-controlled fermentation divided between stainless steel and toasted 5-hectolitre barrels. Half of those barrels were new and half were in their second or third use. The wine then spent 12 months in toasted oak tonneaux with bâtonnage and at least six months in bottle.

The Metodo Classico Chardonnay project began with the 2020 millésime. A documented release spent approximately 41 months on its lees before disgorgement in December 2025.

Tenute del Cabreo’s development rests on the Folonari family’s stated principles of innovation, creativity, research and respect for territorial diversity. The family’s quality-focused direction began with Nino Folonari’s decision to leave mass production behind and has continued through investment in individually situated Tuscan estates.

At Cabreo, innovation has often meant testing French varieties and techniques against the conditions of Greve and Panzano rather than reproducing a foreign model unchanged. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot were integrated with Sangiovese, while the higher Casa di Sala vineyards became the focus for Chardonnay and Pinot Nero. The estate presents this work as a balance between tradition, technical innovation and the aptitude of each site.

Its Supertuscan philosophy prioritises the growers’ interpretation of their vineyards beyond the rules of established denominations. Precision in vinification, long maturation and the relationship between fruit and oak have been recurring themes, with technical updates made without abandoning the identity developed since the early 1980s.

The new cellar extends the same approach by combining contemporary technology with sustainability, local craftsmanship and materials such as Cotto dell’Impruneta. The restoration of rural buildings for hospitality similarly seeks continuity between viticulture, architecture and the cultural landscape.