Tenute Piccini grows through acquisitions and foreign sales

'We are 142 years old, but we are a start-up'. This is how Mario Piccini, president and CEO of his family's wine company, the Tuscan Piccini 1882, sums up the transformation experienced in the last three years, those that have led to (more than) doubling turnover, from 63.3 million in 2020 to 154.3 million in 2023, with a CAGR (average annual growth rate) of 34.6%. "Today we are a different company," says the 'king' of Chianti, one of the most famous red wines in the world, of which he markets 15% of the denomination (about 100 thousand hectolitres out of 650 thousand).

Covid has contributed to the development of the Sienese company which, between its own estates (five in Tuscany, Sicily and Basilicata with 220 hectares of vineyards), the ex-cooperative winery of the Chianti Geografico Farmers and, above all, wines bottled under the Piccini brand, produces 30 million bottles a year, 75% of which it sells abroad, in 90 countries. Large-scale distribution is one of the main outlets and during the pandemic has driven growth. But alongside this, there has been corporate reorganisation, with the transfer of activities to the new 18,000 square metre headquarters in Casole d'Elsa; the inclusion of managerial figures including an experienced general manager such as Davide Profeti; the purchase of 35% of the Treviso-based Vinicola Cide, a Prosecco bottler that controls the German distributor Cide GmbH (renamed Tenute Piccini 1882 GmbH); the launch of new low-alcohol wines such as the 11-degree Chianti Slim; investments never cut in communication, including television campaigns; and a shrewd pricing policy that has prioritised the goal of not losing customers. "This is why I say that today we are a different company, more organised, more efficient, but still positioned in the mid-range," says Mario Piccini, "because we have not raised prices as we should have, remaining a democratic brand. For me, wine is inclusion and what counts is the seriousness of the producer'.

In 2025, the company (200 employees) will rise from 35 to 65% of the capital of Vinicola Cide, evaluate the acquisition of a bottler in Friuli, develop a line of low-alcohol wines that are attracting so much interest around the world, and look to Africa and North and Central America. "Meanwhile, this year we will grow in double figures," concludes CEO Profeti, "reaching a turnover of 170 million, with profitability up from last year's 7.1 million ebitda. We have a clear direction and we are marching ahead'.