When the late Italo Zingarelli, a successful film producer best known for his popular spaghetti westerns, bought Rocca delle Macìe (pronounced ROH-kah DELL-eh mah-CHEE-ah) in Tuscany's Chianti Classico district back in 1973, he embarked on a new career as one of Tuscany's more unlikely wine producers.
Working closely with his son Sergio, Zingarelli set about restoring the property that Sergio together with his wife Daniela, and their two children now call home. Then a tumbled down 14th-century farmstead near the village of Castellina in Chianti, it was surrounded by acres of neglected vines. Vineyards were replanted from scratch; further property, the nearby Sant'Alfonso estate, was acquired, and a state-of-the-art cellar built and installed with the latest winemaking equipment. The Zingarellis left nothing to chance in their quest to create a stellar Tuscan wine estate.