The Gentilini family traces its roots back to Italian nobility in the 16th century when Marino Gentilini was sent abroad to establish forts on the island of Cephalonia (Kefalonia).

Robola is a white Greek wine grape variety that is grown primarily on the Ionian island of Cephalonia. Historically the vine was thought to be the same variety as the Friuli wine grape Ribolla and was thought to have been brought to northeast Italy by Venetian merchants trading with Cephalonia in the 13th century.