FRESCOBALDI LAUNCHES THE NEW HOLDING ‘TENUTE DI TOSCANA’. CASTELGIOCONDO, LUCE, AND ORNELLAIA UNITED WITH THE NEW JOINT ENDEAVOR OF FRESCOBALDI, MONDAVI AND SHEFLER

Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi, one of the most important leaders of the Italian wine sector, made the official announcement recently (news that had already been anticipated by WineNews) that three internationally renowned wine estates would be uniting to create the new holding ‘Tenute di Toscana’. This significant operation by the Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi, advised by Mediobanca (Milan) and the Pazzi Legal Studio (Florence), has created a holding composed of three prestigious wine estates whose capital has been opened to these international partners.
After a long and attentive selection from potential partners among the leading international operators, Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi ultimately closed the agreement with the Spi Group (Geneva) and Mip (Napa, California), the company owned by the Mondavi family.
Spi Group, advised by Hsbc (London) and the Lovells Legal Studio (Milan), is one of the most important vodka producers in the world, manufacturing famous brand names like Stolichnaya and Moskovskaya. Michael Mondavi, historic American partner with Frescobaldi and co-founder of ‘Luce della Vita’, advised by the Law firm Contri (Florence), will continue to contribute to the success of the Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi Group by operating through his import company Folio Wine Partners as the exclusive U.S. distributor for all of the group’s labels.
After a reserved capital increase of Tenute di Toscana, Marchesi de' Frescobaldi's holding is 72.29%. The board will be made up of eight members, six elected by Marchesi de' Frescobaldi, including Michael Mondavi, and two elected by the Spi Group - Yuri Shefler (Spi chairman) and Andrey Skurikhin (Spi deputy chairman).
Tenute di Toscana is primarily a financial tool, thus the management, production, and distribution will remain unchanged in all three Tuscan estates. The partnership with Spi Group and Mip (Michael Mondavi)brings important resources and capabilities to Tenute di Toscana and creates great synergies for the new company.
Chairman of Frescobaldi, Vittorio Frescobaldi commented that he was very satisfied to be able to announce the creation of Tenute di Toscana and gave credit to the importance of the two partners who joined.
Andrey Skurikhin, Deputy Chairman of Spi Group, noted that the company was very proud to become partners with such a prestigious group as the Frescobaldi family and honored to be affiliated with some of the best estates in Italy.
And, finally, Michael Mondavi declared that it was a pleasure to continue an 11 year running collaboration with Frescobaldi.