The term Super Tuscan was coined in the early 1980s to describe a red blend from Tuscany. What makes “super Tuscan” wine different from other Tuscan wines (like Chianti) is the use of wine grapes that are not indigenous to Italy. In particular Merlot, Cabernet franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah. The creation of super Tuscan wines resulted from the frustration thta winemakers had towards a slow bureaucracy in changing Italy’s wine law during the 1970s. Winemakers began mixing ‘unsanctioned’ wine varieties (like Merlot) into their blends to make high-quality wines. The legal system eventually yielded in 1992 with the creation of IGT, a new designation that gave winemakers the ability to be more creative. The most famous super Tuscan wine  is “Sassicaia” . “Tignanello”  on the other hand  was created by Antinori in 1971. It was the first super Tuscan wine, and today Tignanello is a blend of 80% Sangiovese 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc. 

And this is what this wine tour is all about! We will ride up and down and the hills of one of the most recent wine territories of Tuscany, Alta Valdera, searching for those hidden pearls and we are gonna taste them and learn about their secrets from the producers. Each and everyone of them has a story to tell and it’s always something amazing to listen to.

We will also get acquainted with the taste of local food, not to mention that we are in Tuscany and hey, it is all about meat, game, wild boar, porcini mushrooms and truffle!  But not only. We are also going to learn how to interpret the old tradition of Tuscan cuisine in a completely different way, using natural organic ingredients and no meat at all! How? Cristina Fusi, our chef instructor is gonna share with us her experience and show us how to prepare loads of delicious and healthy dishes without having to say goodbye to the Tuscan taste.

We will also visit one of the most beautiful towns of the entire region, Pisa, and we are gonna experience its architecture and surroundings, together with its taste through a dinner in one of our selected gourmet restaurants.

Let’s go meet the protagonists of our stay!

Standard daily program

Day #1

Check in, welcome-aperitif with buffet, wine tasting by Badia di Morrona’s winery. Dinner by Badia di Morrona

Day #2

In the morning: cooking workshop with Cristina Fusi (by the Enoteca di Terricciola); lunch with what will be prepared during the workshop in the Enoteca’s garden. In the afternoon wine tasting by Tenuta di Ghizzano; dinner at Badia di Morrona.

Day #3

In the morning: cooking workshop with Cristina Fusi (by the Enoteca di Terricciola); lunch with what will be prepared during the workshop in the Enoteca’s garden. In the afternoon wine tasting by Pieve de Pitti; then a short visit to Piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa and dinner there by one of our selected restaurants on the beaches of Marina di Pisa.

Day #4

Transfer to station or airport.

Badia di Morrona

Set in the nonpareil Tuscan landscape between Pisa and Volterra, Badia di Morrona boasts a full 600 hectares, an estate where woods of cypress, oaks, and holm oaks leave space for 40 hectares of olive groves, and— above all—110 hectares of vineyards rising up the gentle hillslopes near the Cascina river, between Terricciola and Casciana Terme Lari.
It was precisely in this part of the estate that the Gaslini Alberti family, when they purchased the property in 1939, came across their first vineyards, eloquent testimony to the area’s long-established and deep rooted viticulture.
In the 1990s, Duccio Gaslini Alberti, father of the current owners Filippo and Alessandra, aware of the advantages represented by these unique conditions, decided to significantly improve the quality of the estate wine by launching a sustained vineyard replanting programme, with the far-sighted goal of preserving the most promising vineyards. That involved identifying the most desirable clones, applying the most appropriate vineyard densities, and adopting vine-training systems, all of which were aimed at producing authentic, high-quality terroir wines.
Today, the results of these studies and projects are evident. Considering red grapes, which predominate on the estate, Sangiovese plays the major role; in fact, a full 60% of all the estate vineyards are dedicated to this “Tuscan monarch,” with some parcels planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Syrah as well. Also under cultivation is another native red grape, Canaiolo, valued in blends for its forthright colour. On the white side, Vermentino and Chardonnay stand out, planted in the centre of the estate vineyards in level areas.
From the perspective of continuous research and innovation, one can appreciate the centuries-long journey of the estate from the ancient Badia, historical nucleus of Badia di Morrona winemaking, to the modern design of the new sustainable wine cellar. Both of these elements are landmarks in the territory, marking a perfect balance between past and present that fascinates visitors.

Pieve de Pitti

The Pieve de ‘Pitti is located on the southern edge of the municipality of Terricciola, in the heart of the Terre di Pisa at 140 meters above sea level.
A property of one hundred and ninety-eight hectares covered by woods, cultivated fields and above all vineyards and olive groves, which extend, radially, on the hill dominated by the Villa and the Castle of Pava. The Pieve de ‘Pitti owes its name to the Florentine Pitti family, owners of the farm until the mid-seventeenth century and to the parish church of San Giovanni, built on the ruins of an ancient Etruscan church and still consecrated today. Buoyed by the belief that they could become winemakers and make their own Chianti, the Gargari family left their jobs and moved to Pieve de’ Pitti, in the Lands of Pisa, one of the newest wine regions in Tuscany. Caterina personally spent several years, first supported by consultants, working on her oldest vineyard, the ones her Grandpa planted in the late 60s, using any and all free time to learn everything she could about growing grapes and making wine. And traveling a lot around the world, visiting friends who produce wines in different countries, tasting (and drinking!!) a lot, directly experiencing different approach to vinegrowing and winemaking. Based on their taste and traditions, they make the “rubestio” (uniquely rustic and finicky) character of Sangiovese their own and in 2001 they launched Pieve de’ Pitti with its first vintage, which was met with great critical success and led them to search for additional high quality Sangiovese grapes. As most of the Tuscan lands, their soils, sands, clays and limestones, are rich of shells and fossils, but the original character of their wines mainly comes from the sea breezes that intensively blows all year round from South-West, over the Miemo and Castellina hills. Such puffs, dance through their grapes with a salt embrace, so intense and surprising. That’s why they planted Vermentino, known to be a grape of the Mediterranean coast, on untraditional soil with direct marine influences. Additionally, just because they love fresh and flavourful white wines. For the same reason, they loved the precious gem of late harvest Trebbiano, a golden and juicy grape that made history in the Lands of Pisa. They also felt free to plant some Syrah, to add spicy notes and a bit of verve to the classic style that perfectly represents them and their philosophy.

Tenuta di Ghizzano

Tenuta di Ghizzano is one of the oldest farms in the area, but also one of the most innovative. Completely organic and biodynamic, today it has about 280 hectares, of which 18 are vineyards, 15 are olive groves, 100 hectares are cereal crops and 150 are among woods and poplar groves. Ghizzano is a small hilltop village, about 200 meters above sea level, located on the Tuscan coast in the area known as the “Terre di Pisa” south-east of Pisa, 40 km from Livorno and 40 km south of Pisa. The landscape is soft and the climate is mild because it is mitigated by the sea air; without great extremes of temperature and without great risks of spring frosts. The terrain is a very interesting composite, it constitutes one of the most representative formations of the varied and complex pedological landscape of the Terre di Pisa: it is formed by marine sediments of the geological period called “Astiana” (or Astiana facies), represented by clayey sands more or less limestone, where it is easy to find shell fossils. The Veneroso (Super Tuscan) is the historic wine of the company and the most representative. The first year of production is 1985 and since then it has interpreted, with its elegant, ripe fruit and its minerality, the characteristics of the terroir from which it is born. Mainly from Sangiovese grapes with a small percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon, it has become a point of reference for the wine-growing area from which it is born.

Cristina Fusi

Cristina Fusi is a passionate researcher and chef, specialised in “natural cooking”.
In this particular territory of Tuscany, and actually more in general among a fast growing group of people in the whole region, a new trend in food and wine has established, alternative to the traditional approach but not in contradiction with it. From embracing organic materials and ingredients, both to produce wine and prepare food, this process of renovation of the Tuscan kitchen is heading to a re-interpretation of the traditional flavours and taste with attention and care to sustainability.
Cristina Fusi is one of the most important representatives of this relatively new trend, and through her organic-vegan restyling of the Tuscan cuisine she’s giving constantly birth to a wide range of recipes, both by bringing to a definite form the community’s experience and by creating entirely new dishes, from Tuscan tradition to contamination with ingredients and techniques from all over the world.
Together with Cristina we will learn how to re-interpretate classics of the Tuscan kitchen, like the Cacciucco (formerly Livorno’s flag dish, the king of fish soup) or how to use local products like strawberries (Terricciola’s territory is one of the biggest producer of strawberries in the whole land) and season vegetables in the most unexpected ways.
This is the link to her cook-book, for who wants to check her work out it is possible to read it/ download it here.
We are so happy to introduce Cristina and her culinary world to you, and to have her delighting our trip with a totally different approach from the one we will experience in our wine tasting and dinners throughout our entire staying in Valdera and Pisa.
The two workshops will be held by the Enoteca di Terricciola, a top location property of Terricciola’s Municipality, which is officially supporting our initiative as good practice for a model of sustainable tourism. It has a large, fully equipped professional kitchen, a hall in a traditional Tuscan “cantina” and most importantly a terrace under the sun, where we will consume the products of our efforts.