Wine Tastings and Winery Visits in Bolgheri

Wine tasting in Bolgheri: which wineries to visit

Bolgheri is the village at the end of a five-kilometre avenue of cypresses, on the Tuscan coast about an hour from Pisa and two from Florence. Its wine consortium brings together more than 70 wineries, and the wine tastings on this page are at 8 of them, all in the municipality of Castagneto Carducci. Most start in the vineyard, all last one to two hours and nearly all end with 3 or 4 wines, mostly reds. Guests have left more than 100 reviews of them on Winedering.

Which Bolgheri wineries are worth visiting?

On Winedering, Terre del Marchesato alone accounts for almost half the bookings, but each of these wineries has something of its own:

• Terre del Marchesato, a small family winery: the vineyard, the cellar and a Bolgheri Bianco, a Rosso and a Superiore, with bruschetta topped with the estate's own olive oil.
• Villanoviana: organic vineyards, the cellar and the barrel room, then 3 wines, from Teia Vermentino to Imeneo Bolgheri Rosso, with bread, olive oil and, if you like, the winery's own balsamic vinegar.
• Podere Conca, on the Via Bolgherese: organic vineyards and olive groves, then 3 wines, from Elleboro white to Agapanto red, with a platter of Tuscan cured meats and cheese.
• Tenuta Di Vaira: a tasting room looking over the vines, then the vineyard, the fermentation and barrel rooms and 4 wines, including a rosé. Children get organic fruit juice and colouring sheets.
• Chiappini, the only private tasting on this page: a walk among the vines and olive trees, the cellar, from winemaking to bottling, then 3 reds, from Ferruggini to Guado de' Gemoli.
• Campo al Signore: vineyards, olive groves and the cellar, then 3 Bolgheri DOC wines and a tasting of its organic Toscano IGP olive oil.

If you want food with your wine, half a dozen experiences serve a platter. At Imperiale the owners welcome you to their new winery building, which looks out over the Cabernet Franc vines, and pour 4 wines; at Mulini di Segalari, an organic and biodynamic estate, the 4 wines come with cheese, cured meats, vegetables and fresh bread.

What wine is Bolgheri known for?

For its Bordeaux-style reds: Bolgheri Rosso is made mostly from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc, alone or blended, with up to half Syrah or Sangiovese. Bolgheri Superiore ages for at least two years, one of them in wood, and the whites include Vermentino. This is Super Tuscan country: the first of these reds were sold as table wine, because the DOC, created in 1983 for white and rosé wines, did not cover reds until 1994. The most famous, Sassicaia, has had its own DOC since 2013 and is made only by Tenuta San Guido, which is not on this page. At least half the wineries on this page, though, also pour an IGT red.

To taste the varieties one at a time, the Premium tasting at Terre del Marchesato pours 4 single-variety reds, from Cabernet Sauvignon to Petit Verdot, while the winery's Marchesale vertical lines up 4 vintages of the same Superiore.

How many Bolgheri wineries can you visit in one day?

Two, or three at most: each tasting takes one to two hours and all the wineries are in Castagneto Carducci. Decide beforehand who will drive, and check where each visit takes place: the sensory tasting at Podere Conca starts at the farm on the Via Bolgherese and ends at the winery, a ten-minute drive away in your own car. For a second day, the Etruscan Coast adds wineries in Suvereto, Campiglia Marittima and Casale Marittimo.

You can book these tastings in any season: on Winedering, August alone brings nearly one visit in five and April to June close to a third, but almost one in four still falls between November and March. The harvest runs from late August to early October. The Bolgheri DiVino dinner, with more than a thousand guests along the cypress avenue, is held in early September, though not every year, and cannot be booked: it is only for consortium members and their guests. Many of these tastings can also be given as a gift: whoever receives the voucher picks the date.