As a young woman growing up in the Chianti Classico town of Radda-in-Chianti in Tuscany, Angela Fronti was sure of one thing: She did not want to join her family’s business, doing agricultural work for wineries.
She was far more interested in making wine herself, so she earned a degree in winemaking and found jobs with wineries elsewhere in Tuscany.
But she felt drawn to Radda-in-Chianti, where some of the most ethereal Chianti Classicos are from. Like many families there, the Frontis owned a vineyard with sangiovese, the main grape of Chianti, as well as a few vineyards in other parts of the region. They made wine but sold it in bulk to merchants who bottled it.
Having proven herself at winemaking, she took over the family vineyards to make the wine for Istine, her new Chianti Classico label. The first vintage was 2009. Today, they are critically acclaimed around the world, and she has begun to bottle single-vineyard wines from each of the family’s plots.
