FASHION DESIGNER ROBERTO CAVALLI TURNS WINEMAKER: AT HIS “TENUTA DEGLI DEI” ESTATE IN PANZANO IN CHIANTI, CERTIFIED IGT TOSCANA WINE IS PRODUCED AND WILL BE ON SUPERMARKET SHELVES IN NOVEMBER

From the catwalk to the vineyard: a jump that many have already taken and who has now also made the Italian fashion designer Roberto Cavalli. His debut label is the Cavalli Selection 2004, produced at the “Tenuta degli Dei” (Estate of the Gods) in Panzano in Chianti, and it will be presented on November 17th at the Florentine villa owned by the stylist. The creator behind this IGT wine is the enologist Carlo Ferrini, with the aid of agronomist Gioia Cresti.
Heading the project is Tommaso Cavalli, the son of Roberto, who has added these winemaking activities to the private horse stable activities that are also run on the estate. The winery is located in Panzano, nicknamed the “valley of gold”, and counts 3.5 hectares, as well as another 4.5 hectares of vineyards located around the Florentine villa of the Cavalli family. The wine cellar is a perfect example of the “vin de garage” style, made out of the foundations of the Pieve di San Leonino, where the barriques are situated under vaulted ceilings in the same place where the barrels of the Pieve wine cellar were stored.