A long lasting bond unites the Mazzei family with Tuscany and wines since the XI century.
Ser Lapo Mazzei is the author of the first known document to use the "Chianti" denomination in 1398; in 1435, when his granddaughter Madonna Smeralda Mazzei married Piero di Agnolo da Fonterutoli, the holding became part of the family's estate. Since then, for 24 generations, the Mazzei family produces wine at Castello di Fonterutoli, which even after its recent expansion still remains the beating heart of the company.
The first documented reference to Chianti as a production region is found in correspondence from 16 December 1398 between Ser Lapo Mazzei "the keen notary" and Francesco Datini, "the merchant from Prato".
"Payable, on 16 December (1398), 3 florins 26 pennies 8 dinars to Piero di Tino Riccio, for 6 barrels of wine from Chianti ...said produce paid by credit letter of Ser Lapo Mazzei".
In their exchanges these two wonderful characters were discussing the deals of the time, the pleasures of life, and obviously the wine, of which Ser Lapo was a great fan and connoisseur.
Philip Mazzei
Philip, who enjoyed calling himself a "Citizen of the World", befriended Franklin, Adams, Washington, and Jefferson; the latter invited him to introduce vine growing in Monticello, Virginia. In a letter to George Washington, Mazzei writes that the soil and climate of that region are wonderfully suitable for wine production.
Filippo inspired Jefferson with the idea that "All men are by nature equally free and independent. Such equality is necessary in order to create a free government".
In his book A Nation of Immigrants, John F. Kennedy himself acknowledges that "The great doctrine 'All men are created equal', incorporated in the Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson, was paraphrased from the writings of Filippo Mazzei, an Italian patriot and dear friend of Jefferson".
In 1980 for the 250th anniversary of his birth, Philip Mazzei is commemorated as an "American Patriot" with a stamp issued by the U.S. Postal Service.
Since more than six hundred years, the Mazzei family produces unique wines with spirit and passion renewed from generation to generation.
At Fonterutoli, as well as at Belguardo and Zisola, resides the same philosophy that aims to promote local vine varieties as an expression of the identity of the region, in respect of diversity and nature, via sustainable agriculture and improvements mindful of the delicate hydro-geologic balance, in order to prevent soil erosion and maximize water reserves in the region.
All of this in order to be able to hand the land intact to future generations.
First at Castello di Fonterutoli and then at Belguardo and Zisola, the Mazzei family has undertaken a program of sustainable management of their farming activity with the objective of guaranteeing the stability of the ecosystem and its biodiversity.
This lead to the complete elimination of weeding and chemical topdressing, recycling of production waste (shoots, grape stalks, marc, olive pomace, and horse manure) for the production of company compost to be utilized as completely organic fertilizer.
This is complemented by the exclusive use of green manure with the objective of improving the content of organic substances in the soil naturally, enriching at the same time the biodiversity of the agro-ecosystem. For this purpose plant extracts such as field beans, common vetch, sainfoin, clovers, oat, barley, blue tansy, mustard, pasture hawksbeard, lupin beans, pea, horseradish are utilized, which after being sowed in alternating rows are cut after germinating.
Particular attention is given to biological pest control with the use and launch of helpful insects, especially with respect to fighting the vine moth, the main vine parasite.
In collaboration with a company that specializes in environmental evaluations and sustainability indicators, it was calculated that thanks to the ecosystems present in the company, that is to say woods, vineyards, plantations, olive groves, and forage crops, Marchesi Mazzei at Fonterutoli has a carbon footprint (emission of greenhouse gases) of 731 t while absorbing CO2eq of 3741 t, resulting in an absorption 5 times greater than the emission and a positive balance of more than 3,000 t of CO2.
CO2: 731 t. produced –3741 t. absorned = –3010 t.
Ser Lapo Mazzei is the author of the first known document to use the "Chianti" denomination in 1398; in 1435, when his granddaughter Madonna Smeralda Mazzei married Piero di Agnolo da Fonterutoli, the holding became part of the family's estate. Since then, for 24 generations, the Mazzei family produces wine at Castello di Fonterutoli, which even after its recent expansion still remains the beating heart of the company.
The first documented reference to Chianti as a production region is found in correspondence from 16 December 1398 between Ser Lapo Mazzei "the keen notary" and Francesco Datini, "the merchant from Prato".
"Payable, on 16 December (1398), 3 florins 26 pennies 8 dinars to Piero di Tino Riccio, for 6 barrels of wine from Chianti ...said produce paid by credit letter of Ser Lapo Mazzei".
In their exchanges these two wonderful characters were discussing the deals of the time, the pleasures of life, and obviously the wine, of which Ser Lapo was a great fan and connoisseur.
Philip Mazzei
Philip, who enjoyed calling himself a "Citizen of the World", befriended Franklin, Adams, Washington, and Jefferson; the latter invited him to introduce vine growing in Monticello, Virginia. In a letter to George Washington, Mazzei writes that the soil and climate of that region are wonderfully suitable for wine production.
Filippo inspired Jefferson with the idea that "All men are by nature equally free and independent. Such equality is necessary in order to create a free government".
In his book A Nation of Immigrants, John F. Kennedy himself acknowledges that "The great doctrine 'All men are created equal', incorporated in the Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson, was paraphrased from the writings of Filippo Mazzei, an Italian patriot and dear friend of Jefferson".
In 1980 for the 250th anniversary of his birth, Philip Mazzei is commemorated as an "American Patriot" with a stamp issued by the U.S. Postal Service.
Since more than six hundred years, the Mazzei family produces unique wines with spirit and passion renewed from generation to generation.
At Fonterutoli, as well as at Belguardo and Zisola, resides the same philosophy that aims to promote local vine varieties as an expression of the identity of the region, in respect of diversity and nature, via sustainable agriculture and improvements mindful of the delicate hydro-geologic balance, in order to prevent soil erosion and maximize water reserves in the region.
All of this in order to be able to hand the land intact to future generations.
First at Castello di Fonterutoli and then at Belguardo and Zisola, the Mazzei family has undertaken a program of sustainable management of their farming activity with the objective of guaranteeing the stability of the ecosystem and its biodiversity.
This lead to the complete elimination of weeding and chemical topdressing, recycling of production waste (shoots, grape stalks, marc, olive pomace, and horse manure) for the production of company compost to be utilized as completely organic fertilizer.
This is complemented by the exclusive use of green manure with the objective of improving the content of organic substances in the soil naturally, enriching at the same time the biodiversity of the agro-ecosystem. For this purpose plant extracts such as field beans, common vetch, sainfoin, clovers, oat, barley, blue tansy, mustard, pasture hawksbeard, lupin beans, pea, horseradish are utilized, which after being sowed in alternating rows are cut after germinating.
Particular attention is given to biological pest control with the use and launch of helpful insects, especially with respect to fighting the vine moth, the main vine parasite.
In collaboration with a company that specializes in environmental evaluations and sustainability indicators, it was calculated that thanks to the ecosystems present in the company, that is to say woods, vineyards, plantations, olive groves, and forage crops, Marchesi Mazzei at Fonterutoli has a carbon footprint (emission of greenhouse gases) of 731 t while absorbing CO2eq of 3741 t, resulting in an absorption 5 times greater than the emission and a positive balance of more than 3,000 t of CO2.
CO2: 731 t. produced –3741 t. absorned = –3010 t.
