Sitting in the warm, stone loggia of the Villa San Michele in summer induces an exceptional feeling of well-being, especially with a glass of local wine to hand and the prospect of lunch to come. The sound of birdsong and the sight of olive groves descending in terraced steps towards Florence feels as timeless as this 15th-century former monastery itself.

The views have changed over the years with the growth of the city, and the peace has occasionally been shattered. In 1943, the skies were full of planes pounding the German army as it retreated northwards. Some bombs went astray, hitting San Michele, now restored, as well as the nearby villa of my lunchtime guest.

Marchese Piero Antinori was just five when his home on the outskirts of Florence
received the direct hit intended for the electricity generator next door. The cellars were destroyed and the building badly damaged, but the family survived unscathed and fled to their estate of Tignanello in Chianti. It could have been the end of one of the oldest winemaking dynasties in the world—one that dates back to the day Giovanni di Piero Antinori joined the Florentine guild of vintners in 1385.

With the Marchese’s three daughters now actively involved in the business, it marks an unbroken line of 26 generations.