Please join us for an exclusive evening of fine wine alongside Giovanni Folonari as we taste through an outstanding selection of his amazing Tuscan wines with a thoughtfully paired menu curated by Vigilucci's Steakhouse chef, Dana.
Giovanni Folonari owner of Ambrogio E Giovanni Folonari Tenute
Thursday June 10th 2026 6pm
Vigilucci's Seafood & Steakhouse Carlsbad
Cost is $200 per person and includes dinner with paring
(not including tax and gratuity)
Reservations Required as space is Limited (Menu with feat. wines coming soon)
More information
Giovanni Folonari’s interests reveal a mechanical bent: It might surprise anyone who didn’t know him well to learn that he loves working with tractors in the vineyards. If he weren’t the eighth generation of a renowned Tuscan wine family, he might be an automotive engineer doing R&D for one of the major motor companies. Having grown up in the family that owned the famous Chianti producer Ruffino and seen his father at the forefront of the quality wave in Italian winemaking beginning in the 1960s, though, his instinct was for wine.
Folonari graduated the University of California at Davis enology program and names his father, Ambrogio, Michel Rolland and consulting winemaker Franco Bernabei among his most important career influences. He worked for Robert Mondavi in 1989 and Ruffino from 1991 to 2000, when the family reorganized its holdings and he and his father formed their own group of estates—Ambrogio e Giovanni Folonari Tenute—making small-production wines in the most prestigious appellations.
Folonari and his wife live with their three children at the Tenuta del Cabreo estate in Greve, 30 minutes from Florence.
Giovanni Folonari worked for Robert Mondavi in 1989 and Ruffino from 1991 to 2000 before forming Ambrogio e Giovanni Folonari Tenute
Thank you and we hope to see you soon Ci vediamo presto!
Vigilucci's