Antonio Sanguineti

The first time you find yourself blazing along in the passenger seat of Antonio Sanguineti’s car, you should steel yourself—either for a bolt of fear or for an adrenalin rush (or both) unparalleled in your lifetime. In a nation famous for its invisible speed limits and outrageous drivers, Antonio is truly one of the fastest. (To his credit, he’s also one of the best.) Everywhere you go, locals know the flamboyant winemaker’s car on sight: it’s the only canary yellow Audi wagon in Tuscany, and to them, this blur of a vehicle is known simply as “la Banana Rapida”.The first time you try one of Sanguineti’s wines, you’ll realize how perfectly they match the man– bold, intelligent reds that simultaneously suggest control and grace. But his was not to an easy road. As happens sometimes in Italian families, there was a disagreement about what to do with the Sanguineti family’s land. This happened while Antonio was still a young man and, in the end, it wound up being sold. Despite his love of wine, Antonio was left without a vineyard. As he recalls it, “I owned the knowledge, but not the land.” But the accomplished young winemaker, dubbed ‘Il Maestro’ by his colleagues, was not to be deterred. He parlayed his wine knowledge into consultant work, and now trades his expertise for the right to select the best grapes from two wonderful estates. Without the ongoing overhead of a vineyard, Antonio is able to produce truly outstanding wines for a modest price.