Storia
Medieval origins
Fizzano developed around a medieval hamlet dating to the 11th century. The settlement occupies the summit of a panoramic hill and later became the architectural centre of the estate and its hospitality activities.
1984: acquisition and recovery
The Fizzano hamlet and its surrounding land were acquired in 1984. The purchase enlarged the Zingarelli family's wine-growing potential in Chianti Classico and initiated a wider project to conserve and restore the medieval settlement. This work ultimately created the Relais Riserva di Fizzano.
The estate comprises approximately 61 hectares. Its present agricultural area includes 36.70 hectares of vineyards and 4.37 hectares of olive groves. The principal vineyard planting periods are recorded as 1989–1993, 1994–1995 and 1996–2000.
Il Crocino
Vigneto Il Crocino, planted in 1989, became the source of the estate's historic cru. It comprises four parcels on the highest part of the hillside, covering 9.65 hectares. The vineyard is distinguished from the broader estate by its specific Pliocene conglomerate soils, high sand content and south to south-east exposures.
The restored hamlet
The hamlet's conservative restoration was overseen by Fabio Zingarelli and his wife, Lucia Peretti. Six buildings were recovered to create 22 apartments, together with a swimming pool, restaurant, gardens, vegetable gardens, broad green areas and a small chapel. The estate also became the location of the family company's olive mill.
Sustainability and parcel-focused viticulture
In 2000 the family business abandoned a number of environmentally invasive techniques and introduced an internal sustainability protocol intended to reduce resource consumption, avoid waste and limit pressure on the ecosystem. The approach subsequently developed toward the study of individual, internally uniform vineyard parcels as the basis for wines with a clearly differentiated territorial identity.
In 2010 agronomist and oenologist Lorenzo Landi began consulting for the Zingarelli family, working particularly with Andrea Zingarelli and the technical team on key agronomic and oenological decisions. The sustainability programme entered the VIVA certification process in 2021.
Hospitality development
Giulia Zingarelli became the link between the family wine business and Tenuta Fizzano's hospitality operations. On 10 June 2020, Passo dopo Passo Osteria opened in the hamlet in collaboration with Chef Maurizio Bardotti, adding a gastronomic component to the Relais and the restored medieval settlement.
Terroir
Tenuta Fizzano occupies a panoramic hillside in Chianti Classico, within the territory of Castellina in Chianti. The estate vineyards extend between approximately 190 and 300 metres above sea level and face predominantly south.
Across the estate, the soils are described as deep, calcareous Miocene deposits with a sandy-silty or sandy-loam texture. Sand occurs in higher concentrations than in neighbouring estate soils. This combination of exposure and sandy material is associated with wines that unite power and elegance with freshness and minerality.
Vigneto Il Crocino occupies the highest section of the hill at 280–300 metres. Its four parcels face principally south and south-east. Here the geology is described more specifically as polygenic Pliocene conglomerates: deep, calcareous, sandy-loam soils with substantial sand and stony material.
Vinificazione
The vineyards are trained predominantly to cordon de Royat. The family's viticultural programme combines established practices with technological monitoring and control.
An internal sustainability protocol has operated since 2000, with the aim of reducing and rationalising resource consumption, preventing unnecessary waste and limiting the effect of human activity on ecosystem balance. Vineyard measures include phytosanitary monitoring and alert systems linked to weather stations; infrared mapping of vine vigour and health; monitoring of harmful insects and the introduction of antagonist species; pheromone-based mating disruption; beekeeping along vineyard margins; organic fertilisers; green manure; and the recovery of rainwater and wastewater.
Since 2021 the wine-growing programme has followed the VIVA certification framework. Its four indicators assess Air or climate footprint, Water or water footprint, Vineyard or the impact of agronomic management, and Territory or socio-economic and cultural impact.
Viticultural interpretation has shifted toward individual parcels: internally uniform sections of a vineyard are considered separately so that their distinct territorial character can be retained and expressed.
Filosofia
Tenuta Fizzano operates within the Zingarelli family's “Global Quality” programme. Its central premise is that technical quality alone is insufficient: wine should communicate the landscape and the conditions beyond the glass.
The family's approach combines production technology with knowledge carried through long-standing staff and successive generations. Tradition and innovation are treated as complementary tools, particularly in vineyard monitoring and maintenance.
The programme moved from treating a vineyard primarily as a means of producing wine toward interpreting its constituent parcels individually. The intended result is a more precise and recognisable territorial identity.
Environmental responsibility is framed as protection of land inherited for future generations. The associated goals are to reduce pressure on air, water and soil, limit waste, preserve ecosystem balance and measure the environmental, agronomic and socio-cultural effects of production through the VIVA framework.