Since 1979
A vision from the Alpine foothills
The story of Bollini began in 1979, when Neil and Maria Empson – who pioneered Italy’s quality wine exports a decade earlier – created their own label from the Alpine foothills of Friuli and Trentino. Their purpose was to showcase the excellence and consistency of noble international varieties in the cool northeastern regions of Italy, while maintaining accessible price points. In fact, the first Bollini wine was launched as “a Chardonnay for every day”.
The Empsons have always relied on teams of top professionals and two state-of-the-art wineries, one in each appellation. Prime, hillside locations, ideal day/night temperature swings, and the complexity and minerality that come from alluvial geo-history, all contribute to achieving concentrated, highly extracted fruit. Vinified to the strictest quality standards, the wines are the perfect example of the Empson criteria for excellence.
Label Artistry
Painted by hand
Neil and Maria also kept a careful eye on artwork and packaging. Maria Gemma Empson took the lead, thanks to her background as a painter and gallery manager. Bollini labels bear an especially inspired series of vineyard drawings done by Maria herself. Each illustration captures a single vine whose arms are dramatically stretched out as if to grasp the cool, clean air of these appellations, its roots arduously driven into this ancient terrain.
“La vite deve soffrire”
The old Italian saying reminding us that for quality wine, the vines must suffer.
2010
A New Era of Refinement
In 2010, Franco Bernabei, star winemaker and longtime friend of Neil and Maria, joined the Bollini project, lending his expertise to style the wines alongside Neil Empson. The following year, in celebration of this new era, Maria revisited her signature designs – keeping the vines themselves, but giving the packaging an even cleaner, smarter look. Bernabei’s contribution helped refine the wines’ character during this important chapter, reinforcing the consistency and unique accessibility – in both palate and value – that have always defined Bollini.
Since then, the Empson family has continued to guide the Bollini project directly, building on this foundation while staying true to the same rigorous standards of quality that Bernabei helped establish.
2020
Vegan Certified — all Bollini wines are made without any animal product or by-product.