The most beautiful stories are love stories. In this case, it is the love at first sight of a Swiss couple, Bruno and Brigitte Widmer, for the “Brancaia”-hill, which began during a Christmas visit in 1980 to a friend in Tuscany. \u201cFrom our friend Ruedi Bettschart\u2019s house, we could see this beautiful piece of land,<\/em>\u201d Bruno recalls.The entire area was covered in morning mist, but Brancaia shone in the sun. A magical sight!<\/em>\u201c<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/brancaia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Brancaia_Geschichte_Uebersicht_1200x960px_01.jpg” alt=”Brigitte & Bruno Widmer” title_text=”Brancaia_story overview” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ admin_label=”Brancaia-Hill” _builder_version=”4.16″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/brancaia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Bruno-Brigitte-Widmer.jpg” alt=”Brigitte & Bruno Widmer” title_text=”Widmer Family” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n In 1981, Bruno and Brigitte purchased the Brancaia hill in Castellina in Chianti \u2013 a house in need of renovation and 20 hectares of land, far from being a fully established winery. With love and entrepreneurial spirit, they transformed the estate step by step. Because Bruno loved wine to share moments with friends and family, the dream of cultivating the four hectares of vineyards soon took shape. In the same year, they harvested their first grapes.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ admin_label=”Quality + Vinum” _builder_version=”4.16″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n From the very beginning, Bruno wanted to produce wine according to his philosophy <\/a>of the highest quality, combining Swiss precision with Italian style. Thanks to this approach, the first major recognition came already in 1986: victory in a blind tasting of the 1983 Chianti Classico<\/a>, organized by the renowned magazine VINUM.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/brancaia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Vinum-Chianti-Classico-Brancaia.jpg” alt=”Brigitte & Bruno Widmer” title_text=”Vinum Chianti Classico Brancaia” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ admin_label=”IL BLU” _builder_version=”4.16″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/brancaia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Famiglia-Widmer-Storia.jpg” alt=”Brigitte & Bruno Widmer” title_text=”Brancaia_History” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n In 1988, Brancaia produced IL BLU<\/a> for the first time, whose composition does not comply with the Chianti Classico regulations. The fact that IL BLU could therefore only be classified as a Table Wine <\/em>did not deter Bruno and Brigitte Widmer: Bruno was firmly convinced of the quality of his wine and knew that ultimately what matters is the taste \u2013 not the classification. With this determination, Brancaia became one of the \u201cHistorical Supertuscans<\/a>\u201d in the following years, admired by wine lovers worldwide for their complexity and elegance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ admin_label=”Logo Brancaia” _builder_version=”4.16″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Precisely for this first bottle of IL BLU in 1988, Bruno \u2013 who ran an advertising agency in Zurich \u2013 developed the iconic Brancaia logo together with his designer: the letters of the word \u201cBrancaia\u201d and the four digits of the vintage were arranged into that distinctive square, which still can be found on every bottle of the estate today.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/brancaia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Brancaia_Weine_ILBLU_1200x960px_02.jpg” alt=”Brigitte & Bruno Widmer” title_text=”Brancaia_Wines_ILBLU_1200x960px_02″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ admin_label=”Radda 1989″ _builder_version=”4.16″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/brancaia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1989-9-scaled.jpg” alt=”Brigitte & Bruno Widmer” title_text=”1989 (9)” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n In 1989, the Widmers purchased another completely ruined property in Radda in Chianti. There, they decided to build their own winery \u2013 the foundation for Brancaia\u2019s further growth.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ admin_label=”Barbara Entrance” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Their daughter Barbara, architecture student at that time, participated in 1993 in her first harvest at Brancaia. \u201cThat\u2019s when the spark happened,\u201d she says. Her love for nature and fascination with the harvest led her to leave her studies and, in 1995, enroll at the University of Applied Sciences in W\u00e4denswil to study oenology. An internship at Domaine des Balisiers<\/a> in the Canton of Geneva \u2013 at the time Switzerland\u2019s largest organic wine producer \u2013 had a lasting influence on her approach, which Brancaia continues to follow today.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/brancaia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Brancaia_40_Jahre_1200x960px.jpg” alt=”Brigitte & Bruno Widmer” title_text=”Brancaia_40_years_1200x960px” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ admin_label=”Brancaia in Maremma + Philosophy” _builder_version=”4.16″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/brancaia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Brancaia_Geschichte_1090_1200x960px_08.jpg” alt=”Brigitte & Bruno Widmer” title_text=”Brancaia_History 1090″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n In 1998, Bruno and Brigitte Widmer acquired 82 hectares of land in the Maremma facing the sea. Subsequently, Barbara dedicated her diploma thesis to the \u201cBrancaia in Maremma<\/em><\/a>\u201d project. Here too, the Widmers rebuilt everything from scratch \u2013 in accordance with the principles of sustainability and organic farming, which still shape Brancaia\u2019s philosophy <\/a>and production <\/a>today.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ admin_label=”Logistic Center” _builder_version=”4.16″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n In 2014, Brancaia made an important investment and acquired a logistics center between Siena and Florence. This allowed the offering for visitors in Radda to be significantly expanded \u2013 with a modern tasting room and a varied visits’ offering in Chianti<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/brancaia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_2209-scaled.jpeg” alt=”Brigitte & Bruno Widmer” title_text=”Colle di Val d'Elsa” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ admin_label=”Osteria + Bar” _builder_version=”4.16″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/brancaia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/9.png” alt=”Brigitte & Bruno Widmer” title_text=”9″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Brancaia\u2019s offerings expanded in 2019 with the opening of Osteria Brancaia<\/a> at the Radda winery and in 2025 with the gastronomic wine bar Bar Brancaia<\/a> in Castellina in Chianti. More coming!<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" storyIt all started with a Christmas visit The most beautiful stories are love stories. In this case, it is the love at first sight of a Swiss couple, Bruno and Brigitte Widmer, for the “Brancaia”-hill, which began during a Christmas visit in 1980 to a friend in Tuscany. \u201cFrom our friend Ruedi Bettschart\u2019s house, we […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":1586,"menu_order":13,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1793","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nBrancaia becomes a brand<\/h2>\n
Brancaia becomes an icon<\/h2>\n