Alessandro Cellai is not only the head winemaker of the four DCC estates, but also the overall head of the company as managing director and general manager. Alessandro studied oenology at the Istituto Tecnico of Siena and chemistry at the University of Florence. He is also a doctor in agrarian studies honoris causa. When Paolo Panerai chose him for Castellare di Castellina he was 28 years old, with a great passion for viticulture and oenology passed down from his farming grandfather and his uncle Giuseppe, at that time parish priest at the Parrocchia della Piazza at Castellina in Chianti, which possessed an adjoining vineyard. He had gained experience at two Chianti estates and already acquired a great love of Pinot Noir, which he now grows not only on the DCC estates but also on his 1.5 hectare vineyard one kilometre from Castellare. Alessandro immediately agreed with the decision taken by the owners of the new Castellare winery – inaugurated just a year after his arrival – to follow tradition and a philosophy of not making wine with mixed blends of indigenous and international grape varieties. This is why the Castellare Chianti Classico is one of the very few wines not to take advantage of the new regulation that permits the mixing of Sangioveto with 20% French vines. Despite this, what emerges is a very drinkable soft Chianti. The decision to preserve the purity of the traditional wines has not prevented him from successfully producing four great wines using international varieties, including a single varietal merlot (Poggio ai Merli), cabernet sauvignon (Coniale), chardonnay (Canonico) and sauvignon blanc (Spartito). Nor has it prevented him from being chosen as heir by the great Giacomo Tachis, who has always preferred to soften and complete Sangioveto using French vines. By appointing him as his successor Tachis enabled him to benefit from his own experience, acquired through 50 years of harvests that led to the Renaissance of Italian oenology. Alessandro, who before the age of 40 was named best young winemaker for four years in a row in Canada and other countries, personally oversees exports to the major overseas markets, from the US to Russia, where he regularly travels every year.

A graduate in oenology and viticulture at the University of Pisa with a thesis on “the use of pectolytic enzymes at the vinification stage”, he has had various experiences in the wine sector working in different parts of Italy, from Carmignano to Sicily. Over the years he has been able to deepen his winemaking knowledge, leading him 11 years ago to work for DCC at the Castellare winery alongside Alessandro Cellai, creating and caring for the Castellare wines.

Resident winemaker at Rocca di Frassinello, he graduated at the Istituto Agrario of Firenze specialising in viticulture and oenology. Before joining the Maremma estate, born as a joint venture between Castellare di Castellina and Domain Baron de Rothschild-Lafite, he was winery manager with Cellai at DCC’s Chianti estate. Massimo also loves interacting with customers, and it is no accident that in the interval between working at Castellare and Rocca di Frassinello he worked as a sommelier in two restaurants.

A young graduate from Palermo, he gained his degree in viticulture and oenology at Marsala. He completed his studies with a postgraduate diploma in Asti and a Masters degree in Lisbon. Several working collaborations with the university enabled him to increase his winemaking expertise, also enriched by various experiences abroad. He then decided to return to Sicily to put his acquired experience into practice, working for a number of important Sicilian wineries. At the end of 2006 he joined Feudi del Pisciotto to oversee the vineyards and the winery. His experiences in South Africa in creating a modern vine cuttings nursery have enabled him to develop an ongoing project at Feudi for the recovery of various indigenous grape varieties.