On the occasion of the official presentation of the Suvereto and Val di Cornia Wine D.O.P consortium, italianwinetour.info has selected the best wineries in this part of Tuscany, located in Alta Maremma a few kilometers from the Tyrrhenian Sea
On Saturday 11 December, in one of the coldest weekends of the year, Suvereto celebrated the birth of the Suvereto and Val di Cornia Wine D.O.P Consortium with an event with good presence of press and professionals. This was an important moment for Suvereto, a medieval village on the slopes of the hills overlooking the sea and the Etruscan Coast, which will now have, as stated by the president of the newborn consortium, Nico Rossi: “A locomotive for the whole territory“, where wine production coexists with other agri-food excellences. We mention only one: the delicious violet artichoke from the Val di Cornia. The consortium starts with the membership of 27 wineries and will work to safeguard the Suvereto Docg, Rosso della Val di Cornia Docg and Val di Cornia Doc denominations. A few numbers in the area? There are about 850 hectares of vineyards, for an equivalent and potential production of 4.5 million bottles. The goal is, as for any consortium, the gradual transition from Igt and non-denomination productions to Doc and Docg productions.
Nico Rossi is the president of the new Consortium
A visit in Suvereto? It worth it! The ideal period is of course the summer one, because the Tyrrhenian Sea with its beaches is really a few kilometers away and even the eventual departure for a stay on Elba starting from Piombino (located a few kilometers away) offers the opportunity for a passage in cellar. Moreover, the major wineries are well equipped to welcome wine tourists, who now abound in the area and are enchanted by the natural scenery and history that characterizes the medieval village dominated by the Aldobrandesca fortress. But Suvereto is beautiful even in winter, on one of those days so clear that it seems to be able to swim to Elba and in which Corsica is perfectly visible. Without forgetting that in the first days of December the famous Wild Boar Festival is held here, an event with a strong appeal in the area and throughout the region. Another good opportunity is given by thermal treatments, because the Val di Cornia is characterized by the presence of thermal waters rich in beneficial properties. In Venturina Terme there are qualified and equipped structures such as Calidario Resort & Spa and Hotel Terme di Venturina, which are really within reach of the cellar. Or maybe it would be better to say the opposite.
At this point comes the crucial question: which are the wineries not to be missed in Val di Cornia? Italianwinetour.info selected ten that we believe are worth visiting, warning the reader that the excluded are not excluded because of demerit but only for lack of space on the page.
In cantina da Gualdo del Re
Its top wine is Quintorè (Merlot in purity), but the cellar of president Nico Rossi stands out on the whole range of products, from Pinot bianco Eliseo to Sangiovese Gualdo del Re to finish with the Aleatico passito Amansio. Wines aside, the 40-hectare estate (of which 25 are vineyards) offers a complete hospitality experience and has been doing so for over fifteen years, relying on a farmhouse with nine apartments equipped with kitchens and also on a restaurant, Gualdo del King, also open to external guests with a menu that varies according to market availability and seasonal ingredients. The best dish? If you are a lover of livers, this place is for you. The company offers guided tours, tastings and has a wine shop for any purchases.
Gualdo del Re Resort
You say it’s too easy? You are right, but how can you not mention this authentic monument in the form of a cellar? The project is signed by Mario Botta, Swiss archistar, but the idea and the resources invested are all of Vittorio Moretti, owner of Bellavista, who in Val di Cornia laid the basis for making the great red wines of his group. There are three wine tours offered by Petra: Petra Classic (90 minutes, three wines for tasting, 35 euros per person), Petra Under the Tuscan Sun (120 minutes, three wines for tasting with matching cutting board, 45 euros) and Petra Experience ( 180 minutes with a lot of lunch for 60 euros each).
Petra winery
The most instagrammable photo is the one taken from the top of the cellar, where an architectural element reminiscent of the maxi screen of a cinema stands: the projection, however, consists of the landscape of Suvereto with its vineyards. The real show is also inside the cellar, with the terracotta amphorae that give life to truly unique wines and with its low environmental impact design approach, wrapped in earth and stone. In one word: wow! The proposal? It starts with the basic tasting (15 euros, three wines) and you can get to the truly unique and singular experience of the carriage tour among the vineyards (50 euros each, minimum two people). The cellar is also suitable for hosting weddings and business meetings.
Tenuta Casadei
A Japanese fell in love with Suvereto and took up his home in La Bulichella. The Japanese in question is called Hideyuki Miyakawa, he was one of the key men of Giugiaro Design and from the nineties he moved here on a permanent basis, also becoming president of the Consortium of Doc wines of the Val di Cornia and obtaining the Docg during his mandate . The tasting proposal includes three formulas: basic, complete and top (all by reservation only). But there is also the farmhouse, complete with an internal restaurant, and the guests of the structure have the opportunity to visit the cellar for free with a lot of tasting offered.
Hideyuki Miyakawa, owner of La Bulichella
We have already told the story of Tua Rita in the report dedicated to the total acquisition of Poggio Argentiera in Maremma. It is an opportunity to see where, among others, the famous Redigaffi is born, the first Italian wine to which Robert Parker awarded the highest score (100/100) in his authoritative and influential (for sales in the USA) wine guide. The visits can be booked online and there are four different formulas. The most original is certainly the one called Wild & Chic: it includes a welcome in the tasting room and visits to the vineyard and cellars, and then moves outdoors aboard a Jeep visiting the vineyards and ending with a picnic among the rows ( price: 100 euros each).
Tua Rita’s cellar
A strictly family-run company, Giomi Zannoni was one of the forerunners in the recovery and enhancement of native vineyards such as Sangiovese and Trebbiano. The first dominates the panorama of reds and the Rodantonio Reserve is born from its oldest vineyards, while over time the Trebbiano has given way to Vermentino. The tasting room offers tastings with the company’s products in combination. Reservations are required for groups.
Wine and other typical products in Giomi Zannoni
A biodynamic company founded by Carlo Parenti, a Milanese bank worker that decided to change his life, Macchion dei Lupi aims to produce wines respecting what the territory and the vintage impress. In the cellar, additives, clarifications and filtrations are banned. Instead, the focus is on fulling, maceration, decanting, inspiration. The result is: spontaneous fermentation wines with only unselected indigenous yeasts, without temperature control, with minimal levels of sulphites. “In my bottles there are wines that represent this territory” says Parenti. Among the labels, the Merlot Profeta is produced only in certain vintages, when the climate allows it.
Macchion dei Lupi
22 hectares of property in San Lorenzo, of which 11 are planted with vineyards and the rest with olive groves, Petricci and Del Pianta is one of the historic cellars of Suvereto. Directed by Pietro Petricci and his wife Marilena, the company receives groups of up to a maximum of 30 people for tasting and tasting. The tastings are done from Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 12:00 and from 17:00 to 19:00. You can ask for an appointment for a tasting directly through the company website.
Pietro Petricci and Marilena (photo from Suvereto Wine)
Anna Lisa Rossi is the owner of this company whose name means “land given by woman to woman”, chosen by Anna Lisa as a form of thanks to her mother and family for having handed down her passion for the land and for the world of wine. In 2002 the first label, Okenio, was presented and today Terradonnà has a range of nine wines. The tastings are customizable and take place as a “family lunch” during which anecdotes are told and memories are shared. They can be made in the tasting room or, if the weather and climate allow it, outdoors with a view of the territory of Suvereto.
Tasting in Terradonnà
Run by the founder Nelusco Pini, with his sons Edoardo and Niccolò, Rigoli cultivates seven hectares of vineyards and two of olive groves at the foot of a hill facing south. The annual production is only 30 thousand bottles and the cellar avails of the contribution of the oenologist Leonardo Conti. The doors of the estate are always open to visitors, but there are times when a visit to Rigoli becomes unmissable: May 1st, with the barbecue organized in the courtyard of the estate and live music, and the summer during the Wine event. , Music and Art that every year, pandemic permitting, gathers over 500 fans of live music, art and of course wine. The basic tasting is free, the one with pairing costs 15 euros each, the complete tour 20 euros. Bookable online and only in the period March-October.
Cyclotourism in the road among Rigoli’s vineyards
