Tasting Brancaia's Il Blu

 A vertical of the super Tuscan shows Merlot's mettle

- BRUCE SANDERSON

In 1981, Zurich natives Bruno and Brigitte Widmer acquired the Brancaia estate as a vacation property for their family. Located in Castellina in Tuscany's Chianti Classico region, the original 49 acres came with 10 acres of vineyards and an abandoned winery. With the help of the Mazzei family at Fonterutoli and Francesco Ricasoli at Castello di Brolio, the couple started making wine.

"We have a beautiful friendship with the Mazzei family," says daughter Barbara Widmer, who began making the wines in 1998 after studying winemaking and gaining valuable experience at a Swiss winery. "They helped us out with their knowledge, with their cellar facility. We lived in Zurich. We weren't winemakers and we were not at the spot. So we were able to produce the first quality wines with their help."

A successful advertising executive, Bruno had money to invest; Brigitte looked after the sales of the wines. The company quickly grew, and in 1988 the Widmers introduced a super Tuscan, Il Blu, to the range of wines.

A year later, the family purchased an additional 133 acres at Poppi, in Radda in Chianti, and between 1989 and 1995 replanted the vineyards. In 1998, Brancaia expanded into Maremma, buying nearly 203 acres. That same year, the new cellar at the Poppi estate was completed.

From the beginning, sustainability in the vineyards was the goal, and since 2019 the vineyards have been certified organic. New vines are planted from a selezione massale. In the cellar, fermentations have been from ambient yeasts since the 2012 harvest. Brancaia has grown to nearly 200 acres of vineyards, and the original team of three is now 32 employees, with nine different wines sold in 45 markets worldwide.