Italian flavour: Anna Fendi brings her country’s taste and style to the table

Anna Fendi’s AFV (Anna Fendi Vini) selection comprises over 20 wines of different varieties, including classic Chiantis and Soave wines from Veneto. All are named after couture-inspired terms, such as Velvet, Twill or Lamé, to reflect their unique qualities. Pictured from left: Spina di Pesce Soave wine, £19; Zip Grappa d’Amarone, £85; double wine leather case, £390; wine Plexi case, £170; Alamaro Kerner Alto Adige wine, £24; single wine leather case, £220, all by AFV, from Hedonism Wines (opens in new tab)

As part of one of Italy’s most prominent fashion families, entrepreneur and designer Anna Fendi (opens in new tab) has been exposed to the beauty of her country’s products all her life. After years at the creative helm of the family business, she has branched out to explore yet another field of Italian expertise, with a carefully selected collection of wines, and accessories designed to accompany them.

The AFV (Anna Fendi Vini) selection comprises over 20 wines of different varieties, including classic Chiantis and Soave wines from Veneto. All are named after couture-inspired terms, such as Velvet, Twill or Lamé, to reflect their unique qualities. The collection, which also features traditional spirits such as grappa, offers a panorama of Italian grape production. 

‘I have always been impressed by the hard and constant work behind every bottle of wine,’ says Fendi, whose husband, Giuseppe Tedesco, a wine connoisseur, collaborated with her on the collection alongside a team of experts including master taster Michelangelo di Toma. ‘We decided to travel around Italy to visit and discover amazing places and wine producers,’ explains Fendi. ‘I immediately fell in love with this world and decided to create a selection to educate people on Italian wines and the excellence of our soil.’ 

Alongside her wine selection, Fendi also worked closely with young glass artists from the island of Murano in Venice to create a range of wine accessories. The striking glass designs come in either sophisticated dusty shades or graphic black and white, and are accompanied by wine cases in Plexiglas and leather.

Fendi defines herself as a ‘fashion craftswoman’, and these projects combine seamlessly to bring her ideas and passions to life. ‘Wine and fashion share the same matrix,’ she says; taste, method, elegance and passion are elements she has carried over from her life-long fashion career. ‘We need to put aside conventional ideas about aesthetic taste and sensitivity of the palate,’ she adds. ‘What really links fashion and flavour cannot be anything other than an irresistible joie de vivre.’

As originally featured in the March 2015 issue of Wallpaper* (W*204)

Alongside her wine selection, Fendi also worked closely with young glass artists from the island of Murano in Venice to create a range of wine accessories. Pictured from left: ‘Goto’ flute glass; goblet; wine glass, £370 each; ‘Sospiri’ flute glass; wine glass, from £190 each, all by AFV

INFORMATION

The AFV range is available to sample and buy at Fendi’s Villa Laetitia in Rome and Ponza. For more information, visit Anna Fendi’s website (opens in new tab)