The Tuscan wine group Tenute Piccini takes over the winegrowers' cooperative Agricoltori del Chianti Geografico for 7.2 million euros and thus averts its insolvency. This was announced by the company in Florence. The cooperative, founded in 1961, is the oldest in the region and has so far owned 60 wineries. With 16 employees, it processes around 1550 tonnes of grapes per year. An agreement between Tenute Piccini and the Italian Banca IFIS has secured the existence of the winegrowers.
The wine group also plans to renovate the Chianti Geografico wine cellar and the barrel cellar and to make micro-vinification possible with new, small tanks. Tenute Piccini has already been handling the entire wine management for the cooperative for two and a half years. The group currently employs 67 people in its six wineries, produces around 16 million bottles a year and last year generated revenues of around 64 million euros.
The cooperative has apparently been unable to make punctual payments to the winegrowers since June 2018. The reasons for this are not known.
(uka)