The Hills of Chianti: The Story of a Tuscan Winemaking Family, in Seven Bottles Hardcover – September 9, 2014

"Delectable…Whether Antinori is explaining the wine crisis of the 1960s or defining the Tuscan way of doing things or how his family roots infused him with a love of travel, the result is a pleasure. Oenophiles and those just curious for a bit more information will appreciate the technical notes about each of the seven bottles. A delightful celebration of an extraordinary Italian family’s enduring love affair with wine." -Kirkus Reviews

“There is no more evocative book to read on the ride through Tuscan wine country than The Hills of Chianti.” –Book Trib 

“The author’s well-founded experience in expanding the global market for Italian wines, as well as his genuine passion for his work and deep knowledge of the Italian terroir, informs this useful perspective for entrepreneurial readers.” –Publishers Weekly

“Anyone who loves Italian wines will enjoy spending some hours with this immensely intelligent and thoughtful Tuscan winemaker.” –Los Angeles Times

“Late in the evening, Sangiovese teasing your palate, do you ever wonder how grape farming and winemaking emerged from a lineage of humble agriculture to become the modern, ultraprestigious craft of fine wine, an industry aligned with the likes of Louis Vuitton, Hermès, and Maserati? Here is the story of Tuscany's noble Antinori family, winemakers since 1385, written by the most innovative Antinori of all. This is also the story of Tignanello, Solaia, Villa Antinori, Cervaro Della Sala, and three other iconic wines that helped the family bottle up their legacy.” –Foreword Magazine

'The nettlesome question about wine is: Does it make for good reading? For a subject reflexively associated with art and romance and la dolce vita, it tends to inspire god-awful prose: mawkish evocations of landscape, endless anthropomorphizing of the product itself (noble, hedonistic, mysterious, muscular, vivacious)…A reader of Mr. Antinori's memoir, The Hills of Chianti…consider that Mr. Antinori happens to be working with exceptional material. More than anyone else, it was the 76-year-old godfather of Chianti Classico who first convinced the mass market that Italian wine did not have to taste like the dreck that came out of jugs and straw-covered bottles. Mr. Antinori also introduced the first blended red wines known as Super-Tuscans to a rapturous world of critics, collectors and conspicuous consumers.” –Wall Street Journal

“Unlike other fame-seeking wine entrepreneurs, the Antinori family did not have to buy history. It has been making wine for more than 600 years: According to one ranking, the Antinori family business is the 10th oldest in the world. There is a disarming frankness to "The Hills of Chianti," not to mention a welcome absence of authorial bluster…much that is novel and fascinating about the Antinori tale…If the answer isn't clear, one nonetheless senses that the passion is real—and that it grows on vines but not on trees.” —Mr. Draper is a contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine and National Geographic

Marchese Piero Antinori is president of Marchesi Antinori, one of the most historic and prestigious names in Tuscan viticulture. The Antinori estate today is a multilayered wine conglomerate with operations in Italy and around the world. Most recent in a long list of recognitions, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Wine Enthusiast magazine in 2009 for "bringing Italy to the forefront of world enology in terms of innovation, quality, and recognition."