Just one hour driving from Pisa you can find the beautiful Bolgheri wine region. The Bolgheri region is a wine zone in the Maremma that runs parallel to the Tuscan coast in the province of Livorno, named after the town of Bolgheri. Perhaps you already know that Bolgheri is a relatively young wine region in Tuscany. Some pioneers started in the late 1960s and early ‘70s with winery pioneers like Sassicaia, Grattamacco and Michele Satta.

The region is close tot he sea and flat and low in altitude. The region is very close to each other so it’s easy to plan more visits in one day.The area is beautiful with medieval hamlets and lush countryside, lined with cypress trees and olive groves. The weather is also fabulous due to its proximity to the coast in Southern Tuscany.

Bolgheri became an internationally known region following an event in 1974 arranged by Decanter where a 6-year-old Sassicaia won over an assortiment of Bordeaux wines. Prior to this, Bolgheri had been relatively anonymous producers of ordinary white wines and rosés. Due to the particular characteristics of the soil and micro climate sunny, dry and moderately windy, the red grape varieties of Bordeaux origin tend to thrive, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.

The current set of DOC regulations for Bolgheri red wines became approved in 1994.  Before the creation of this DOC, the "Super Tuscans" from the area were typically sold under the simpler designations Vino da tavola or IGT Toscana.

The sub-zone Sassicaia has its own appellation declaration, with up to 85% of Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Cabernet Franc. Created as a subzone of the Bolgheri DOC in 1994; established as a separate DOC in 2013. In principle, the wineries in the Bolgheri are making great quality wines. Big names like Antinori Guado al Tasso, Ornellaia and Gaja but there are ofcourse also smaller producers like Grattamacco, Macchiole and Campo Sughera. Moreover, there is no space left to place vines, so the soil is also extremely expensive.

The white wine grape most often used in Bolgheri Bianco is Vermentino, which may account for up to 70 percent of the wine. Vermentino is a white-wine grape grown in various locations around the western Mediterranean: northwestern Italy, southern France and the neighboring islands of Corsica and Sardinia.