Leonia and a Life of Innovation

There is a place tucked away in the rolling hills above Florence that not only speaks to the continuity of Italian history and her great families but also celebrates the life of an innovative young woman from France who changed the course of winemaking in the region forever.  

The Place is Pomino, one of the wineries owned by the storied Frescobaldi family, and the woman is Leonia degli Albizzi. History, especially before the 20th century, only sometimes records women’s contributions accurately, if at all, but Leonia is an exception. Leonia degli Albizzi was a formidable, determined woman. She grew up in France between Champagne and Burgundy in the early 19th century and married Angiolo Frescobald in 1877.  

The Frescobaldis are amongst the most illustrious Florentine families, linked to the city’s history for at least eight centuries as bankers, politicians, entrepreneurs, and even artists and poets. Like Leonia’s Family, The Frescobaldi family also had a history of winemaking. Records of Frescobaldi wine production can be traced back to the 1300s when they began to acquire properties and vineyards. They have always been known as innovators in developing Tuscan and Italian wines, particularly in cultivating and promoting Chianti. 

The Albizzi family, too, had been influential in Florence, particularly during the 14th and 15th centuries, before the rise of the Medici. So, when Leonia married into the family, she joined forces with like-minded individuals who already shared her passion for viticulture. Leonia also brought two valuable Tuscan estates as part of her dowry, Castel Nipozzano and the Villa of Remole. 

Soon after their nuptials, Leonia proposed cultivating varieties of grapes like Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, common in France but previously never attempted in Tuscany, at the family’s Pomino estate. It was a bold, risky choice and one that paid off handsomely. Her intuition about the soil in the area (a combination of limestone and sandstone), combined with the unique microclimate, produced grapes of uncommon quality, and in 1878, Pomino wines received the Gold Medal at the Paris Expo. 

Leonia’s work with French varietals at Pomino accelerated the Frescobaldi family’s experimentation and innovation with winemaking, a legacy that continues today. The Pomino winery now spans over 617 hectares, with over 90 hectares dedicated to vineyards. Leonia also brought a new gravity feed technology that helped automate and speed up the casking process. The building she designed is still in use today, as is the gravity flow system she envisioned all those years ago.

The Pomino estate continues to produce highly regarded wines, and the Frescobaldi family, now in its 30th generation, remains one of the leading forces in the Italian wine industry and continues to uphold Leonia’s legacy of innovation and excellence. Leonia’s contributions are not only celebrated to this day, but Frescobaldi developed its first sparkling wine in her honor called, of course, Leonia.