Wine Tastings, Winery Visits and Wine Tours in Maremma

Wine tasting in the Maremma: which wineries to visit

The Maremma is south-western Tuscany, where the hills run down to the sea. Its heart is the province of Grosseto, and to the north it reaches the Livorno coast. Grosseto is about two hours by car from Florence, a little more from Rome. This page lists more than 100 experiences at more than 50 wineries. Almost two thirds of the experiences are in Grosseto province: in the Morellino hills, on the tuff around Pitigliano, in Montecucco and in the Colline Metallifere. Most winery visits last one to two hours and pour 3 or 4 wines, and guests have left more than 200 reviews on Winedering.

Which Maremma wineries are worth visiting?

In Grosseto province, start with its three most booked wineries, Rocca di Frassinello, Purovino and Podere Casina, and with those near Saturnia:

• Rocca di Frassinello, in Gavorrano: a winery designed by Renzo Piano, a barrel room cut into the rock and finds from the Etruscan necropolis of San Germano, then 4 Maremma Toscana DOC wines with schiaccina, a local flatbread.
• Purovino, in Magliano in Toscana: the vineyard and the cellar, then 3 wines with cured meats and cheese at sunset, on a terrace facing the island of Giglio.
• Podere Casina, between Grosseto and Scansano: an organic family farm where the owners lead a tasting of 5 wines with local cured meats and cheese.
• Capua, near Saturnia: a tour of the winery, then 6 wines in the barrel cellar, each with its own small bite, presented by the sommelier.
• Erik Banti, in Manciano: he started out in Montemerano in 1981 and helped make Morellino known beyond the Maremma; you taste three Morellinos, including an organic one and a Riserva, plus a Super Tuscan.

Only a few experiences include a meal. Rocca di Frassinello also offers a tour with lunch from Monday to Friday, and at Tenuta Monteti, in Capalbio, a vineyard walk and 3 wines are followed by a light lunch of local produce, buffalo mozzarella included. There are about half a dozen picnics, more than half of them at Fattoria La Maliosa, in Manciano, which makes natural wines: you take a basket, with a bottle of Ciliegiolo for every two guests, to the meadow beside the estate's Big Bench.

What wine is the Maremma known for?

Above all for Morellino di Scansano DOCG, a red made from at least 85% Sangiovese, the grape locals call Morellino; it comes from the hills around Scansano and parts of nearby municipalities, from Grosseto to Manciano. The Maremma Toscana DOC covers the whole province of Grosseto, with Vermentino among the whites and Ciliegiolo among the reds, while Ansonica is the white of Monte Argentario and the island of Giglio. Montecucco lies at the foot of Monte Amiata, bordering Montalcino, and Bianco di Pitigliano, a DOC since 1966, comes from the tuff around Pitigliano and Sorano.

For Ciliegiolo, go to Sassotondo, between Sovana and Pitigliano, which pours 5 single-variety Ciliegiolos made in steel, wood and terracotta, ending with San Lorenzo from its old vineyard. At Cacciagrande, 10 km from Castiglione della Pescaia, you taste 6 Maremma Toscana DOC wines, from Vermentino to Petit Verdot, with a platter.

Where in the Maremma should you go wine tasting?

In the province of Grosseto, the area with the most wineries is Morellino country, between Scansano, Magliano in Toscana and Manciano, home to Saturnia and its hot springs. To the south-east are the tuff towns of Pitigliano and Sovana, part of the municipality of Sorano. To the north-east lies Montecucco, where Begnardi, in Civitella Paganico, serves 4 organic wines and a platter at sunset, poured by Michele or his son Alessandro. To the north, between Gavorrano and Massa Marittima, the Colline Metallifere look out to sea: Sequerciani starts in a cellar dug into the hill and ends with 3 natural wines and a board, vegetarian or vegan on request, while Morisfarms, in Massa Marittima, pours a white, a rosé and a red on a terrace above the Gulf of Follonica.

Further north, on the Livorno coast, Bolgheri accounts for about half the bookings on this page and has its own page. It lies on the Etruscan Coast, which also has wineries in Suvereto: at Tenuta Casadei, after the amphora room and barrel cellar, you get a picnic backpack with a bottle of wine and choose a spot among the vines.

Summer is busiest, though wineries take bookings all year: on Winedering, almost four visits in ten fall between July and September, and almost a third between April and June. In late September, Scansano's grape festival brings tastings into the town centre and opens the historic Morellino cellars. You can give many of these experiences as a gift voucher, and the recipient chooses the date.