Launched into the UK in 2002, CANTI has grown from an Italian wine-brand concept into an export-focused portfolio with a presence in more than 50 countries, backed by the long-established Fratelli Martini Secondo Luigi wine business.

BBI Europe  |  Brand Focus

In a European wine market where heritage increasingly has to work alongside strong branding, recognisable packaging and international distribution, CANTI offers a useful example of how an established family producer has built a consumer-facing brand for export.

CANTI is part of Fratelli Martini Secondo Luigi S.p.A., the Italian wine company whose history dates to 1947. The CANTI brand itself was conceived by Gianni Martini, a member of the Martini winemaking family, and was developed with the aim of presenting Italian wine through a clear, internationally accessible identity.

From Italian idea to international brand

According to CANTI’s official history, the idea for the brand emerged in Milan in 2001. The following year, after work involving the Fratelli Martini winemaking team alongside designers, marketers and importers, CANTI entered the British market in 2002.

The UK launch was significant because the brand was created with export markets in mind from the outset. CANTI says it subsequently expanded into more than 50 countries, giving the business a footprint well beyond its Italian home market.

The name was also selected to travel easily. CANTI explains that the word evokes songs and singing in Italian, while offering a name that is simple and recognisably Italian for consumers in other markets. That combination of origin and accessibility has remained central to the brand’s positioning.

Backed by an established Piedmont producer

Although CANTI is a relatively modern brand, the company behind it has a much longer production history. Fratelli Martini Secondo Luigi was established in 1947 and is based in Piedmont, one of Italy’s best-known wine-producing regions.

The company’s production base is in Cossano Belbo, and CANTI lists cellars in Cossano Belbo, Gavi and Neive. Fratelli Martini has also described its relationship with a network of around 1,200 grape-growing families in southern Piedmont, illustrating the agricultural scale supporting the wider business.

The family structure has continued across generations. CANTI identifies Gianni Martini as its founder, while his daughter Eleonora joined the company in 2011 and became involved in the development of the brand and the wider family business.

A portfolio broader than Prosecco

CANTI is strongly associated in many export markets with Italian sparkling wine, but its strategy is broader than a single category. The brand’s official range spans sparkling, white, rosé and red wines, allowing it to operate across different drinking occasions and price points.

For international distributors, this type of portfolio can offer a practical advantage. Rather than building awareness for an individual product alone, importers and retailers can use one recognisable brand across several styles, potentially extending the value of distribution, merchandising and consumer marketing activity.

It also reflects a wider challenge within Italian wine. Italy’s depth of regions, grape varieties and denominations is a major strength, but that complexity can be difficult for less experienced consumers to navigate. An umbrella brand can provide a simpler route into the category while still retaining a clear Italian identity.

Branding Italian provenance for export

CANTI’s development sits at the intersection of traditional wine production and modern brand building. Its communications place Italian lifestyle, conviviality and design alongside the wine itself, creating a proposition intended to be understood beyond specialist wine audiences.

That approach is increasingly relevant as established European producers compete not only on appellation and provenance but also on visibility, packaging, social relevance and the ability to perform consistently across different retail environments.

The continued presence of CANTI across international markets suggests that the brand model has proved durable. More than two decades after its British launch, it remains positioned as an outward-looking Italian label supported by the production infrastructure and grower relationships of a business founded in the immediate post-war period.

A European export case study

For the drinks trade, CANTI is therefore an interesting European export case study: a modern brand created inside a traditional family wine company, deliberately structured to communicate Italian provenance in a form capable of travelling internationally.

Its story also demonstrates a broader commercial point for European beverage producers. Heritage alone does not automatically create an international brand. CANTI’s expansion has combined production history with naming, packaging, portfolio breadth and a clear export orientation – the elements increasingly required to turn regional provenance into a scalable consumer proposition.

EDITORIAL SOURCE NOTE

CANTI – Our History: https://www.cantiwine.com/canti-style/history/

CANTI – Contacts / production and cellars: https://www.cantiwine.com/contacts/

Fratelli Martini – company information and grower network: https://www.fratellimartini.it/

Prepared for BBI Europe. Facts checked against official company sources accessed September 2026.