Winemaker Bio

Carlo Mascheroni and Giovannella Stianti Mascheroni

The husband and wife team of Carlo and Giovannella, and their children Nicolò and Federica, own and oversee the myriad operations of Castello di Volpaia. The family members are a product of their regions, feeling a natural draw to the land and their village. Their partnership is based on mutual admiration and a respect for their environment, their heritage and their commitment to bottling the best-quality wines their estate can produce. Their combined vision and entrepreneurial spirit have made Volpaia into one of the most admired and internationally acclaimed wineries in the region.

Carlo was born in Monza, near Milan, in 1940, the second child of eight brothers. As a young man, Carlo was a passionate yachtsman, spending much of his free time racing in the Mediterranean or traversing the world’s oceans. It was while Carlo was away on one of his sailing adventures that he met Giovannella in the seaside holiday village of Versilia. On land, Carlo studied law at the Catholic University of Milan and later took a job as a corporate attorney in Milan.

Giovannella was born in Florence in 1947, the third child amongst three brothers. Her father, Raffaello Stianti, was one Italy’s preeminent printers and bookbinders and a man who adored his daughter. On the occasion her fifteenth birthday Raffaello presented Giovannella with an 18th-century Florentine ring in the shape of two foxes. “Volpaia” means “fox’s lair” in Italian, thus, in Giovannella’s opinion, “sealing her destiny.”

After completing high school, Giovannella entered the International Interpreters School. Not much later she went to work for RAI, the Italian national radio and television company. In 1972, following her initial meeting of Carlo, Carlo left to sail across the Atlantic on the 1972 OSTAR (Observer Singlehanded Trans-Atlantic Race). Upon Carlo’s return, the couple became engaged, were married and relocated to Milan. As a wedding gift, Giovannella’s father presented the newlyweds with the Volpaia estate, which he began purchasing in 1966. In 1974, the couple had their first child, Nicolò, followed by their daughter, Federica, in 1976.

By the mid-1970s, Carlo and Giovannella decided to commit their considerable energies toward modernizing the winery and producing world-class wines — all
without altering the external structure of their 11th-century village. The process of achieving their desired level of quality has been a decades-long process.

In 2000, Giovannella launched her cooking school to not only educate visitors to Volpaia about Tuscan-style cooking and hospitality, but to keep the traditions of the region’s cuisine alive.

Carlo and Giovannella are the driving forces behind the winery. (Carlo practices corporate law in Milan, and dedicates every weekend and all his other free time
to Volpaia.) They view Volpaia as a lifefulfilling project, which is deeply rooted in local traditions while simultaneously developing a broader, global point of view. Both enjoy travel and make a point to attend wine events worldwide.

Nicolò Mascheroni Stianti

Carlo and Giovannella’s son, Nicolò, was born in Florence in 1974. He attended high school in the United States, graduating in 1992 from the Cambridge School of Weston in Weston, Mass. He later attended Boston University, participating in the School of Management (SMG) program. While living in Boston, he worked as a waiter in the city’s North End.

When he returned to Italy, Nicolò earned his bachelor’s degree in economics and legislation from the Bocconi University in Milan in 1998. After graduation, he worked for a consulting company in Milan, which was owned by a Bocconi professor. In 1999, Nicolò was hired by one of Italy’s top publishing companies,
specializing in luxury goods and financial information. (The company is a partner of the Dow Jones group in Italy.) In 2014, he was hired as managing director by the Weather Channel Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Nicolò met his wife, Annalisa, in high school, but they did not date until college; they were married in 2004. The couple divides their time between Milan, London and Volpaia. Like his father, Nicolò is an avid sailor and enjoys many outdoor activities. In time Nicolò will assume leadership of Volpaia.

Federica Mascheroni Stianti

Born in Florence in 1976, Carlo and Giovannella’s daughter, Federica, earned her earliest degrees in Milan. In 1995, she went to Florence, where she received
another degree in technical art restoration. Federica furthered her studies in 2000 at the University of Arezzo. She graduated with top honors and a master’s degree in Restoration and Conservation of Artistic Heritage. Following this artistic experience, Federica decided to begin a new adventure at her family’s historic winery in Volpaia. In May 2007, Carlo purchased the Prelius estate in Tuscany’s Maremma region for Federica, just as Giovannella’s father had bought Volpaia for her 40 years earlier.

Thanks to Federica’s past experience at the Azienda Vinicola Falesco winery in Umbria with Volpaia’s consulting winemaker Riccardo Cotarella, she developed an appreciation and knowledge for all aspects of viticulture and enology. Today, Federica shares her passion for agriculture, organic farming and wine, representing her family’s wineries on the global stage.

Lorenzo Regoli, Winemaker

Lorenzo Regoli is Volpaia’s vineyard manager and first resident winemaker. He joined the winery in 2000.

Lorenzo was born in Rapolano, Italy (Siena province), in 1970. He graduated in 1996 with top honors in the field of agricultural science from the University of Florence. His area of expertise is in the study of Sangiovese and Sangiovese clones. After writing his final university paper entitled “Research into the selection of Sangiovese clones,” Lorenzo collaborated with the University of Florence for two years to continue to write and publish numerous scientific papers on this varietal. (Part of his studies were published in several scientific journals.)

Lorenzo joined Volpaia after serving three years as a technical director at Livio Felluga in northern Italy’s Fruili region. Chosen from a long and impressive list of applicants, Lorenzo has made many improvements at Volpaia due to his expertise with Sangiovese clones, his attentiveness and his quick, daily responses in both the vineyards and the cellars.

Riccardo Cotarella, Consulting Winemaker

Born in Monterubia, near Orvieto, in 1948, Riccardo Cotarella is a valued addition at Volpaia, bringing technical innovation, new ideas and suggestions during the final blending process (Riccardo joined Volpaia in 2001). Riccardo’s family has been involved in the wine business for generations. In 1979, he and his brother, Renzo, founded the winery Azienda Vinicola Falesco. Riccardo is currently the president of the Scientific Committee for the preparation of the wine pavilion for Expo 2015 as well as the Worldwide Sommelier Association.