The ancient Antinori family has resided in Florence since the early 13th century when they moved from Calenzano, a village between Florence and Prato where their presence is recorded in 1188. The family initially worked in the silk trade and joined the Guild of Silk Weavers in 1285.

The Antinori family's first encounter with wine dates back to 1385, when Giovanni di Piero Antinori joined the Guild of Wine Merchants to make the best use of the family's country properties in Valdarno, around Florence.

However it was not until the 16th century that banker and merchant Alessandro Antinori made the wine from his estates famous in Italy and abroad, travelling from Lyons to Flanders, and from Spain to Algiers.

Wine was to remain the family's passion and main business activity, so much so that in 1898 the "Fattoria dei Marchesi Lodovico e Piero Antinori" was created by brothers Lodovico and Piero, the sons of Marchese Niccol= - a direct descendent of that other Niccol= who purchased Palazzo Antinori in 1506 and poured his efforts into publicising Tuscan wines around the world and creating fine quality products.

For 26 generations the Antinori family have continued to make history.